The Strength of a Horse
by muishiki
Summary: Life doesn't quite work out like we hoped. For Ranma, he's a warrior without any wars. For Anko, a Jonin stuck in limbo. When you ride your horse for 1,000 li, you learn about its strength. Ranma 1/2 Naruto Xover. Ranma/Anko Mitarashi
1. Chapter 1

I don't own these characters. Don't sue me; you won't get blood from a turnip.

* * *

Science teaches that all things trend towards entropy. All things fall apart; decay is the natural state of world. The new building begins to crumble from the moment the first foundation stone is put in place. Societies rise only so that they can glorify their ultimate fall. Even intangible things are susceptible to entropy. Ideas inspire, then are forgotten in the mists of time. Relationships are born in a fiery passion and burn out, leaving nothing but cold hard reality.

It was a little thing, really. A small, innocuous comment. However, little things are often just the opening larger problems need to exploit in order to snow ball into an irreconcilable differences. On this particular day, Ranma made the mistake of commenting on Akane's cooking. It didn't matter that he'd made similar comments for years up to this one. What was important was that the foundation for this relationship was so weakened, so unstable, that it couldn't bear the accumulated weight of one more comment. It was the the crack that weakened the dike, allowing all the pent up rage break free and spill forth, pouring out and devastating everything in its path.

And so Ranma and Akane argued. She asked him what he meant, he of course replied nothing. His answer just led to more questions, more baiting, and like a cigarette but smoldering between couch cushions, it caught, quickly building to a conflageration. It was all they ever did anymore. Argue about stupid stuff, important stuff. They couldn't say anything to each other unless they were arguing. It had been like this for too long. Ranma couldn't even remember what it was like to _not_ argue anymore. Finally, hours before their arguments normally wound down, Ranma decided that he couldn't take it anymore.

He stood up. His abrupt action startled Akane out of her normal tirade. He turned and walked away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Akane jumped up and grabbed Ranma's arm. She wasn't ready for this to end yet.

"Out." He didn't bother looking at her, instead he just shook his arm loose and continued towards the entrance.

"Why?"

"You know why."

"No, I don't. Why don't you tell me?"

Ranma sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He still didn't turn to face her. Akane. His wife. Briefly his joy, but more often his source of sorrow. Oh, he could make a million excuses, and he often did. They got married too young. They got married for the wrong reasons. They weren't right for each other. They were still grieving about the baby. But, the reality was, it didn't matter. It wasn't working. Their relationship wasn't like the dojo; it couldn't be fixed with a couple new boards and a fresh coat of paint.

At this point, he didn't care that it couldn't be saved anymore. He was only 22. He'd been married now for four years, but it felt like a lifetime. He'd done his penance. He was young yet. Even if satisfying the demands of honor doomed this relationship, maybe he could find happiness and recapture that heady feeling of self confidence he used to have when he was a teenager.

Maybe. But he knew he couldn't do it here. Maybe at one time he could have, but now...

"I don't want to argue anymore. I need to leave."

"Ranma..."

He cut off her growl before she could launch into another round of accusations and blaming. "I'm not going to do this right now, Akane. I'm going out. I'll be back in a bit." Ranma walked to the front door and methodically put on his coat, ignoring the fuming woman behind him.

"Where are you going, huh, Ranma? Off to see another one of your hussies?"

"Akane..." He shook his head. It was pointless. Round and round it went. They never had the trust necessary to build a relationship. It had been poisoned from the beginning. It was like watching a train barreling down broken tracks. It was derailing, and there was nothing that could stop it. Their relationship was a living corpse, old, frail, and on its deathbed. It refused to die a dignified death; it struggled to cling to life for a few more pain filled moments. Better to be alive and suffering then to die and face the unknown.

It was time to pull the plug. "I'm going out. I'll be back."

"When?"

"Later." He put his arm through the sleeve and started to zip up the coat. Fall hadn't quite given away to winter yet, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Plus, he had a feeling he'd be sleeping outside tonight. He stooped down and slipped on his standard Chinese slippers, not wanting to bother with laces at this point.

"I'm warning you, Ranma." There was something in her tone that made him stop and face her. The hot rage was replaced by cold anger. This was different, more dangerous. "If you walk out that door right now, don't bother coming back."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Again, the cold, formal anger. This was it, then. He looked around the entrance hall of the Tendo Dojo, drinking it in. Things had been good once. This had been home; it had been the only home he'd known for a long time. But life had gotten in the way, honor had bound their hands, and a forced marriage had made them bitter and crushed the fragile love that had formed between them long ago. The stared at each other for a few seconds, a lifetimes worth of communication passing between them, willing the other person to understand all the words that should have been spoken years ago, before it got to this point.

He knew neither of them was strong enough to fix this problem. He gave her a grin, but it really didn't reach his eyes. Saotome Ranma didn't lose, and he wouldn't admit this defeat. "Abayo, Akane." He gave her a two finger salute and walked out the door, pausing only long enough to brush his hand on the entrance gate. He'd miss the dojo, but he wouldn't look back. It was for the best.

=-=-=-

"Was it a bad one?"

Ranma took a pull on his beer, setting it down on the counter. "Yeah."

Ryoga grimaced. "How bad?"

Ranma shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I can't go back." He really didn't want the beer, but he couldn't sit at the bar and not order something. He picked at the label, peeling it off so he had something to do, anything to do, than focus on the actual problem at hand.

"Jesus, Ranma. You should have called me. Or called Tofu. Or someone."

"I did. I called you."

"Yeah, only after you got thrown out of the Dojo." Ryoga nursed his own beer, staring not at Ranma but at some point off in the distance. "Where are you going to go?"

Ranma shrugged. "I was hoping I could crash with you for a couple of days until I could get back on my feet."

This only elicited a sigh from Ryoga.

"Or not."

"Look, Ranma. If where up to me, it wouldn't be a problem." He shrugged, apologetically. "But with Akari pregnant and all..."

"Yeah, I understand. I wouldn't want to impose on you guys, anyway. Don't worry about it."

"What about your parents?" Ranma gave him a flat lidded stare. "Right. Dumb question." The silence stretched, making Ryoga uncomfortable. Ranma was perfectly content to sit there, however. Finally, the formerly lost boy spoke up.

"Do you have any camping gear, at least?"

He gave a barely perceptible nod. This cause Ryoga to look around, searching for a pack. "Where is it?"

Ranma patted his sides.

"Hidden weapons technique?"

Again the nod. Ranma almost had the label completely peeled off by now. Just a few more tugs... with grim satisfaction, he pulled it free and rolled it into a ball.

"Well, I guess you could stay in the pigs' stables until we could find something else." Ryoga paused. "What are you going to do?"

Ranma shrugged in response to Ryoga's question. "Don't know what I can do. This place has no use for someone like me."

"What are you talking about?"

Ranma let out an exasperated sigh. "Ryoga, what am I good at?"

"You're the best damn martial artist I've ever seen."

"And?"

"And..." Ryoga opened his mouth to continue, and shut it with a click. Embarrassed, he stopped short, then flushed.

"Exactly." Ranma took a long pull on his beer. He set the empty bottle down on the counter, and put enough coins on next to the bottle to pay the tab.

Silence reigned as Ranma made no move to get up. "I'm gonna need some help."

"Yeah. I know. Listen, I have this friend who works in the construction industry. I'm sure that he's got a lead on some jobs for you. And I think if we..." Ryoga rattled on, eager to talk about his plans to get Ranma back on his feet and back in Akane's good graces. Ranma let the words flow over him, not even listening or making much of an effort to understand. He grunted in the appropriate places to show he was listening, but in reality he drifted, conscious thought abandoned as he simply listened to the rise and fall of Ryoga's voice. He had no direction, no purpose. The Art used to be his life. But, the real world didn't have a place for a martial artist without a college degree and no real skills. He was almost a functional illiterate. Hell, he'd barely graduated from high school.

His focus in the Art had gotten more intense as his relationship had collapsed. He was better than ever, but still completely out of place in modern day Tokyo. A warrior without any wars to test himself against anymore. He was lost.

He perked up. "Ryoga?"

Ryoga cut off in mid-flow, turning to look at Ranma. The tone of voice he used was not what he would have expected from someone in his situation.

"What? Did you like the idea about trying to find some work as a stunt double?"

"No, not that." He paused, not sure how to phrase it. "I want to get lost."

Ryoga grunted and turned back to his beer. "That's not a solution, Ranma." He snorted. "Believe me. I tried it for years. It doesn't solve anything."

"I know." Ranma dropped the beer label on the bar and pushed around with his index finger. "Do you honestly think I can fix the problems I have here?"

"Akane might change her mind. You guys could get help, you know? Go to counseling, or something."

Ranma shook his head. "We've hurt each other too much at this point. Maybe at one time, we could have. But now? There's no trust and too much baggage. I was always just a prize to her, and we are both too damn proud to admit that we were didn't know what the hell we were doing. She just held on tighter because she knows she knows she didn't win fairly."

"You still blame her for getting pregnant, huh?"

Ranma shook his head. "No."

Ryoga raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really. I don't." Ranma trailed off, frowning and staring at the wall as he remembered. "Sure, it was a shitty way to 'win,' but I was happy to have some sort of resolution, ya know?"

Ryoga nodded. "But you're still angry."

"Yeah, I am. I'm angry because of all the shit that happened after she told me about the baby. Going of to rub it in Xian Pu's face and putting me in that situation. Putting us in that situation. The hardest thing is..." He trailed off, unsure if he really wanted to voice his thoughts. "I wanted the kid. I was happy when I found out, Ryoga. I was. But when she had the miscarriage, she blamed me for it, even though was Xian Pu's fault."

Ryoga grew grim. "I didn't know it was Xian Pu's fault."

Ranma nodded. "What did you expect? That Xian Pu would take her taunting laying down? She was crafty about it, but eventually Akane took the bait. Oh, she was able to claim self defense in the end, but Xian Pu was much better than Akane. She could have incapacitated her without endangering the baby. You knock her out, use pressure points, whatever. You don't punch her in the gut."

"Xian Pu did that?"

Ranma nodded.

"I would have killed her if she did something like that to Akari."

Ranma's smile held no mirth in it. "I got my revenge."

"What did you do?"

Ranma looked at Ryoga. He asked, "Do you really want to know?"

Ryoga almost answered that he did, but there was something in the way Ranma said it, in the flat tone of his voice and emotionless look in his eyes, made him reconsider. In the end, he decided it wasn't that important. There wasn't much to say after that. Ryoga regarded his frined calmly. Yes, sometimes it still amazed him that Ranma, his eternal rival, was his friend. But he was.

Partly, it was because Ranma had changed after the incident with Saffron. He was no longer the innocent boy he had been. He had stopped holding back as much. That, more than anything else, had been the reason Ryoga had buried the hatchet and eventually became his friend. To do otherwise was to risk permanent harm, because Ranma had stopped playing. After Saffron, when he fought, he fought to win.

"Do you still want to get lost?"

He didn't hesitate a for a second. "Really lost. I want to go someplace where no one will ever find me." He paused, then looked directly at Ryoga. "I mean nobody. Not even you."

Ryoga returned the stare, nodding slowly as comprehension dawned. "You sure?"

Ranma nodded.

"All right. Let me call Akari." Ryoga pulled out his cellphone and hit the first number in the speed dial. He explained where he was to his wife and told her what he needed to do. There was a brief conversation, but Ranma could tell by the set of Ryoga's shoulders that the pig-boy was relieved. Akari must have agreed. When Ryoga hung up, he simply asked, "Are you ready?"

"No time like the present."

Ranma led the eternally lost boy outside. The air was chilly, but the real cold hadn't come yet. For a while the pair just stood there, breathing in the fresh air. It was crisp and clean and carried the first hints of dried leaves. They were both stalling; neither said anything, using the excuse of taking in the night air as a final chance to take comfort in their friendship. As rocky as it had been, Ryoga was Ranma's only true friend, and he knew that Ryoga felt the same way.

Finally, Ryoga broke the silence. "Alright. Hold on to my sleeve or something. I'm just gonna close my eyes and walk. I won't open them again till you let go, okay?"

Ranma nodded.

Ryoga chuckled softly. "I can't believe I'm actually trying to get lost this time."

Ranma smiled a bit, too. "And I can't believe I'm willingly going with you." Ranma reached out and grabbed Ryoga's shoulder. He gave it a squeeze. "Thanks."

Ryoga nodded.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Ryoga stepped forward. He really did keep his eyes closed the whole time. For Ranma, it was an incredibly weird sensation. Each step brought him farther from the world he knew, but he wasn't able to track the transition. One moment he was in Tokyo, the next...? After what seemed like an eternity, he gave Ryoga's shoulder a final squeeze.

"Tell Akane I'm sorry." With that, he let go.

Ryoga didn't cry for a whole two steps after he felt Ranma let go. He kept his eyes closed, though, and kept walking. He didn't want to see, he didn't want to know. Instead, he concentrated his thoughts on Akari. When he finally opened his eyes, he was standing on the front steps of the small farm house they shared.

Akari opened the door and gave him a hug. "You alright, Ryoga?"

He returned the hug gently and looked over his shoulder into the night. Where ever Ranma ended up, he hoped he was happy. Back when they were teenagers, his whole reason for being had been to destroy the happiness of Ranma Saotome. Seeing it actually happen was too much for him to bear. He didn't trust his voice just yet. He nodded into the top of her head and kissed the part of her hair softly. He wasn't, really, but he knew he would be in time.

She looked up at him, and extricating one arm, wiped his tears away. They stood there for a bit longer until she got cold.

"Come on. Let's go inside."

Ryouga gave her a gentle squeeze.

"You go in first. I'll be right there."

"Are you sure?"

Ryoga nodded. Akari stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently. She clipped the end of a retractable lead line to his belt loop and attached the other end to her hip. Even though he didn't need it as much anymore, that little guesture of comfort and support made him feel better.

When she went inside, he turned out to look at the night. It was quiet on the farm, and the pigs were sleeping. The night didn't bring any answers. With a silent prayer for his friend, Ryoga turned and went inside, following the pull of the lead line.

=-=-=-=

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage of the Hidden Village of the Leaf, dropped the portfolio on his desk and looked up at the Kunoichi that barged in his office. She was waving a letter back and forth in her hand, shouting that it wasn't fair. He didn't respond at all. He merely stared at her till she became aware that she was yelling at the village Hokage. The anger died down and she stopped yelling, but the difiance was still there. Good.

"Close the door, please."

Anko nodded and closed the door to the Hokage's office, then returned to stand in front of the desk.

"Did you hurt any of the guards?"

She shook her head. The movement only drew attention to her rather... interesting attire. While he was old enough not to be distracted by the fishnet mail shirt she was wearing, he sometimes found himself wishing he were fifty years younger. Or hell, even ten. The long over coat she was wearing did little to hide her shirt, in fact it accentuated it by drawing attention to the tantalizing hints of what might light beneath.

"What brings you here today?"

Anko narrowed her eyes and slammed the letter she'd been waving around on his desk. Luckily, she didn't disrupt any of the various piles of paper, or he would have been truly upset. He plucked the letter out from under her hand and quickly scanned its contents. Ah. So that is what this was over. He looked up at her, bemused.

She put her hands on her hips, and arms akimbo, glared at him. He wished she wouldn't do that. It did rather distracting things to her wardrobe. "Are you going to fix it?" She pointed at the letter.

He cleared his throat. "I can't."

Anko scowled. "What do you mean, you can't?"

Sarutobi arched an eyebrow. Anko had the grace at least to blush a little bit, but she still looked him right in the eye, demanding an answer. "You must fulfill certain requirements before promotion. I can't promote you to full Jonin until you take, and pass, genin students."

"You want me to teach a bunch of snot-nosed little brats?" Anko snorted. "I'll do it, but you won't like the results."

The Sandaime took out his pipe and began to pack it with tobacco. "I do want you to start teaching, and I had better like the results. More than just your promotion is riding on this, you know."

She didn't say anything. He lit the pipe and took a couple puffs to start the dottle burning. "The village needs to know it can trust you." Before she could say anything, he held up his hand. "I trust you. But the rest of the village..." He shrugged. "Blame Orochimaru, and you would be only be partially correct. They fear you, yes. But you've made no effort to win their trust, either."

She crossed her arms under her breasts, clearly annoyed. Sarutobi was extremely grateful that his face didn't betray his delight at the motion. "I'm an assassin, Hokage. It's what I do. What do you want me to do, start helping old ladies across the street or something?"

"Or something, yes." He gestured with his pipe. "You use their fear of you to keep separate from the rest of Konoha. Until they know that they can trust you with their most precious asset, they won't trust you. If they don't trust you, I can't promote you to full Jonin."

"You could promote me. It's your right as Hokage."

"I won't be Hokage forever, Anko."

She grunted, clearly not pleased at the reminder.

He sighed. "Your right, of course. I could promote you. But that would do you no good. Nobody would work with you. Nobody would hire you. You'd end up as canon fodder, sent out on boring, dangerous missions until you end up dead, instead of being hand picked for special missions suited to your talents. I have that luxury right now, as you are the only special Jonin in the village. If I remove the distinction, you also lose my protection."

She mulled it over. He was right, of course. But she wouldn't give up without a fight. "So your saying I've got to start teaching brats, huh?"

He smiled. It was a grandfatherly smile, designed to take the sting out of his victory. "Yes, I'm afraid so. It's rather too bad this year's crop of genin will be assigned teachers shortly. I bet you and Naruto would have gotten along great."

"The trouble maker?"

"Takes one to know one, Anko." He puffed on his pipe.

"So you're saying I've got to wait at least a year." Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Oh, more than that, I would think. You've got to pass a genin to chunin."

"I've got to pass one? Are you kidding me? That could take years!"

He smiled. "Not if you're a good teacher."

"Just one?"

He nodded. "At least one. Preferably, the entire team."

"But one would be enough, right?"

He nodded in agreement.

She sighed in defeat and dropped her arms. "Oh, alright. I'm totally going to get you back for this, though."

"I hope so. On your way out, could you please ask the guard to come in? I would like to speak with him about allowing unannounced visitors into my office."

Anko blushed. "About that... You see, he really didn't want to let me in, but..." She shrugged. "I can be persuasive."

Sarutobi chuckled. "I bet. Will he require medical attention?"

She paused to think. "I don't think so. But he may have an irrational fear of dango after this."

The Hokage gave a wan smile. "That's too bad. At any rate, send him in as you leave."

Anko recognized the dismal and left with a nod, but not before flipping the Hokage a rude hand gesture. He smiled and waved her away. If only everyone in the village was as spirited.

=-=-=-

Ranma woke with a start and nearly fell out of the tree he'd been sleeping in. He looked around, trying to get his bearings and failing miserably. He didn't recognize the species of the tree he was in, nor any of the other plants he saw around him. They resembled trees he was familiar with, but only if you didn't look too closely. Where ever he was, it sure as hell wasn't Earth.

Ranma was no astronomer, but he'd slept under enough nights under the a starry sky to be pretty familiar with both the Southern and Northern hemispheres. He hadn't recognized a single constellation in last night. Ryoga had done his job. He was absolutely lost. He didn't have a clue where he might be, which suited him just fine. If he didn't know, chances are he'd be safe here.

Regardless of where he now was, a few things remained the same. There were only three rules to surviving in the wilderness. The first rule his father drilled into him: find shelter. The second rule of survival was find some water. Worry about food only when you've taken care of the first two. The corollary to the first rule was that when in unfamiliar territory, high ground might not offer the best shelter, but it usually offered the best protection, which is why he spent his night in a tree.

He hopped out of the tree, bouncing of branches on his way down to the ground.

It took him the better part of the morning, but he eventually found a stream. The water was cold and clear, but he wasn't going to drink out of it till he could boil some. He had no idea where he was, and he didn't want to end up sick with some sort of parasite. With no particular direction in mind, he walked down stream until he found a likely spot to fish in. It was a quiet pool with a rock overhang, the kind of areas fresh water fish loved. He changed sex as soon as his arm was in the water, but he didn't mind. Females, in general, tended to fare better in wilderness survival, anyway. She was unsuccessful at first, not used to having to catch her own meals anymore. However, after a while, she was able to grab a fish and toss it onto the bank. She kept at it until she had a couple more.

As nice as it would be to have some vegetables, she was reluctant to forage. Eating stuff you didn't know was a good way to end up sick. Better to stick to game until she found someone that knew the local plants. She gutted and cleaned the fish, stuck them on a stick, and started a fire.

Time to do an inventory. She began pulling her camping gear of the fold in space that stored all her hidden weapons. It was a very strange technique, and getting Mousse to explain had required a steep price. It wasn't a ki technique, like she had originally thought. It involved the manipulation of ki, but the amount was minuscule. It was difficult to describe. Mousse said it was drawing a tangent line to a circle. the line touched at only one point, and with the appropriate ki manipulation, you could turn the point where the two figures intersected into yet another circle of infinite size.

Ranma hadn't cared about the theory. All he cared about at the time was that it worked. She pulled her camping gear and a knife out of her hidden weapons "stuff space." She filled a pan with some stream water and set it directly on the coals and then stuck the fish skewers in the ground so they could catch the flames as well. By the time the water was boiling the fish was almost done. He set the pan aside so the water could cool and immediately attacked the fish. The meal wasn't anything special, but it was enough. Hell, it was certainly better than anything Akane ever made.

She felt a pang of guilt and intense sadness before forcing it away. She could mope latter. Right now, she needed to concentrate on making camp.

=-=-=-

Sixty-seven days. At least, that's how long Ranma believed she'd spent in the woods so far. She'd started keeping track the second or third day she arrived. At first, she was glad for the solitude because it gave her some time to deal with her feelings. But eventually, even she got tired of camping. She was tired, dirty, and was really craving a good bath. There was only so much wild game you could eat before you craved some processed food. In addition, her supplies of essential gear - salt, pepper, cooking oil, string, matches, and more importantly, weapons - were getting dangerously low.

Sure, she didn't need matches to survive in the wild. Hell, her entire upbringing had been nothing but a lesson on wilderness survival. But matches sure as hell beat the flint and steel or the fire bow method. The reason she was most worried, however, was that she was running low on weapons.

Some of the things she killed for food were pretty recognizable. A deer was a deer, even if the coloration was a bit different than she was used to. The porcupines were a bit larger than she was used to, but tasty enough. But some of the other things? If she doubted she wasn't in Kansas anymore, her first run in with the local predators confirmed her first suspicions that was definitely not Earth.

She had the misfortune of running into a nest of things that looked kind of like a cross between a armored boa constrictor and a centipede while tracking an animal through a sandy area of the forest. It had been only her second day in the forest, and she'd yet to run into anything really dangerous, besides some toxic looking plants. The sandy forest floor was different from the normal loam covered ground, but she hadn't really noticed it since she was intent on her target. Right as she had started spinning her sling up to take down her intended dinner, the forest floor had erupted and a mass of these creatures poured out of the ground. She leapt clear instantly, but the deer she'd been hunting was taken down and pounced on by several creatures before it could do the same.

They had been nearly thirty feet long, moved lightning fast, and had definitely been predators. The deer was torn apart by the time Ranma had made it up into the upper branches of the trees. However, the tree tops hadn't offered as much protection as she hoped, as the creatures started to climb up towards her, mandibles snapping in anticipation. The first stone from her sling bounced off the armored carapace of one the creature, but the second stone took the nearest one in the eye. It fell out of the tree and was pounced on by the others on the ground. That only bought a little time, though, because more of them were climbing towards her. She didn't have enough ammunition or time to take out the rest of them, so she utilized the Saotome Secret Technique; she fled.

She'd been able to get away because the creatures didn't follow her very far once she jumped down from the tree and ran. She'd since learned to recognize the signs of nesting sites and avoided them. But there had been some things that we a bit more tenacious than the centipedes. She'd been forced to fight more often than not, and usually her only choice was to kill whatever was after her before it could get her. Pretty much everything she'd encountered was either over-sized, aggressive as hell, poisonous, or some combination of all three.

It made her think of Ryugenzawa on steroids.

The plants were just as much a problem as the local bestiary. Half the plants were toxic to the touch, and the rest were either thorn filled or noxious. The sap of some of the more frequent bushes was acidic and pitted the metal of her weapons. Between hunting, defending herself, and fighting off creatures interested in adding her to the evening menu, she'd lost a vast majority of her bladed weapons, and was now reduced to mostly ranged items.

As much fun as it had been, she was ready to have a hot shower and some real food, preferably something she didn't have to kill herself. She had a hankering for some ramen that just wouldn't quit. This morning she'd packed up camp - which hadn't taken long. She'd found out early that tents seemed to attract curious and hungry creatures- and went looking for some signs of civilization. She eventually found a path in the forest and followed it. It could have been a game trail, and looked like one. But she had a hunch that the way it wound through the trees was too purposeful, too random. Someone had spent a lot of effort making the trail look natural, but there were some tale-tell signs that this was for human use. Certain scratches on tree trunks, made just above eye level where the unobservant would easily miss it, or a small branch bent upwards, not forwards or backwards along the trail.

It took opposable thumbs and brains to do that sort of stuff.

So she followed it. However, if someone had gone through the pains to hide the trail this much, then it warranted being careful. She stuck to the trees or the ground on either side of the trail, stopping often and double backing to ensure she was still alone. Her caution paid off quickly, as on several occasions, black clad men and women leapt swiftly and silently through the trees above the trail, scanning either side. They looked like ninja wearing flak jackets.

They were quiet, fast, and armed to the teeth. They moved like people accustomed to fighting. Plus, the nature of the weaponry they carried told Ranma they weren't out hunting. Those weapons were meant to kill, and more than a few of them looked well worn. But, they were human, at least, which was a great relief. She'd seen three groups of three so far, and all of them seemed to be heading in the same direction she had originally chosen. With nothing better to do, and the promise of some sort of human civilization at the end, she continued along the trail, taking care not to be discovered.

Because she didn't dare move as fast as the ninja she followed, it was nearly a week to reach the first sign of civilization she'd seen in months. It was pretty simple; just a fifteen foot tall chain link fence topped with barbed wire. The path she had been following led to a simple numbered gate. The fence didn't look sturdy enough to be a serious barrier to some of the animals she'd seen in here, so it must have been to keep out people. Unsure of what to do, Ranma watched the gate for some time before deciding it would be safe to cross over.

Rather than take the gate, though, she hopped over the fence. Once on the other side, she continued to follow the path, keeping her ears and eyes open. Considering how well armed the people she'd seen had been, it wouldn't do to get taken by surprise. They also didn't seem like the type to trust strangers.

The forest thinned fairly quickly one past the fence. Cover became less available as the trees thinned and offered less protection. She took even greater care not to leave any traces behind and was thankful for her caution a few moments later. The forest ended abruptly; the reason was that the ground had been cleared completely for several hundred meters in front of a giant wooden palisade. Ranma watched from the cover of the trees, noting the guards that patrolled along the top of the wall, giving her a sense of scale. It must have been a good fifty meters to the top. Definitely higher than she could jump, which is all that mattered. The wall curved around in either direction, the ends lost in the distance. She could make out a entrance towards the east, but there was no way to approach it unseen.

She faded back into the trees and, using the trees for cover, worked her way over towards the entrance to study it a bit more carefully. She selected a sheltered vantage point to observe the path leading into the town. There was a fair amount of foot and cart traffic. She noticed quickly that there were no motorized vehicles; everything was pulled by a beast of burden of some sort, either a donkey, horse, or ox. Traffic coming to the gate was questioned and carts searched briefly, but the guards stationed out front were efficient and allowed commerce to flow unimpeded.

She watched until night fall. The was gate closed at night, pushed shut by a troop of men wearing the flak jacket and combat fatigues she'd seen earlier on the people in the forest. She wasn't getting in tonight. This much protection meant that any attempt to slip in under the cover of darkness would be punished. Ranma knew you didn't show this much force unless you were prepared to use it, and she had no inclination to find out exactly how willing these people were to resort to force. Finding a heavily fortified, heavily guarded village in the middle of a forest rife with deadly creatures hadn't exactly set her mind at ease about her new home, but it at least she knew there were people here.

She slipped back into the forest and took to the treetops, ready to settle in for the night. She was pretty confident she'd be able to get into the town no problem. Once inside, though, she had no idea what she was going to do.

=-=-=-=-

"Are you sure about this?" Anko flipped through the report quickly, taking in the vital data with a scowl.

The ANBU guard wearing the dog mask nodded. "Positive."

"Does the Hokage know?"

"He was informed as soon as the survey team came back."

"And?" Anko prodded, wanting him to continue. She read the report, but she wanted a verbal read out of the situation as well.

"Our surveillance detection unit detected a perimeter breach in the Forest of Death near entrance 42. We sent a team out to investigate. They quickly ruled out the local fauna and they managed to find traces of a person of unknown origin. They followed it in both directions as far as they could. The person had come from the Forest but avoided the main trails, staying between 50 to 100 meters away at all times. Once over the fence, the trail disappears once the perpetrator reached the burn zone."

Anko grunted. She hated the burn zone, but it was necessary. Konoha regularly burnt the undergrowth leading up to the forest of death. It made for faster travel, less predatory creatures, and less cover for hostile forces to use against them. But at the same time, it also made tracking harder as people tended to stay above the forest floor, and there was less underbrush and grasses to mark the passage of someone moving through the area.

"Did you try tracking by scent?"

The ANBU shook his head to the negative. "No one on the initial team had that capability."

Anko growled in frustration. The report was now hours old. There was no telling where this person was now. "Assessment?"

"Threat assessment is high. Evidence suggests that it was only one person, not a team. We think it's either a missing nin or a reconnaissance mission. In either case, unless the person's from Konoha, the necessary level of skill required to traverse the Forest on a solo mission is quite high."

"Give me a rank," She demanded.

"B rank or better." The ANBU shrugged. "Difficult to know, considering. Your orders?"

Anko thrust the report back at the ANBU. "Stay here. Have someone from the survey team take me to where they last found the trail. In form the Hokage that I'm out hunting. If I'm not back by noon tomorrow, we have a problem on our hands."

=-=-=-

Anko's night vision was pretty good, but this close to the Forest it was almost pitch black under the canopy. Here ANBU guide showed her where the trail had been lost. In the dark, it was considerably harder to find the footprints the infiltrator had left behind, but they managed. Anko considered asking the ANBU to stay, but in the end decided it be better for the him to return to Konoha to patrol the wall. It was a long shot that the infiltrator was still in the area, anyway.

Once alone, she pulled out a kunai and made a small incision on her thumb. She pulled the sleeve of her coat up on her left arm and rubbed a small amount of blood on the tattoo there before pushing the required amount of chakra through the hand seals for summoning creatures. She molded the chakra quickly, and with a diminutive 'pop', a couple of rat snakes landed on the ground at her feet.

The pair of snakes flicked their tongues at her, sampling the air. Anko bent down and brought her face close to the serpents. She pointed at the foot prints. "Do you think you can track that scent?"

The snakes slithered over to the footprint and flicked their tongues into the air. One of the pair reared up in the air, flicking its tongue out as the other one continued to sample the footprint.

"Well? What do you think?"

The snakes both nodded in unison and started heading in the direction of Konoha. Even moving as fast as possible, snakes don't have nearly as much speed as a blood hound. But, they were just as capable trackers, given the right breed. Anko followed the snakes at a slow walk, keeping here ears and eyes open for any possible attacks. Anko had spent the entire night weaving back and forth between the trees, following her summons as they tracked the scent.

Near dawn, one of the snakes returned to the base of the tree where Anko was crouching to give a report. Apparently, the prey had holed up in a tree for the night and was still there. The other snake was watching in case the target woke up, ready to attack.

Anko's respect for her prey went up a notch. Whomever it was had been thorough and carefully covered their tracks. It was obvious that the target was Konoha, otherwise there would have been no reason to stick around. She did a quick inventory check before moving out. If possible, she wanted to capture this person. Ibiki would be interested in hearing what they would have to say.

She followed the snake back to the tree where they had followed the scent, every sense on full alert. Anko scanned the ground and the tree tops closely for traps. It made her nervous when she didn't find any obvious ones. Either her target was incredibly confident in their abilities, or had made a careless mistake. Given how thorough the approach to Konoha had been, Anko was inclined to believe the former, rather than the latter.

B ranked her ass. She contained a snort. This was going to be fun.

She kept her eyes open and senses aware as she scanned the tree her prey was supposed to be in. It was a while before she saw what she was looking for - a person was sitting upright against the bough of the tree, a good twenty meters off the ground, carefully disguised by posture, position, and coloration. If she hadn't been actively searching for her, she would have missed it. She squinted. A woman. Pretty, with red hair and a slight frame. Still sleeping. She couldn't detect any chakra. Careful not to let any killing intent or chakra leak out and tip off her target, Anko studied the woman as best she could from the distance. She wasn't dressed like any ninja she'd seen before, wearing some dirty, nondescript clothing and no forehead protector. She didn't see any back pack or signs of gear.

Anko prepared her assault. A good offense always beat a strong defense, and her target was at her most vulnerable right now. She turned her options over in her head, considering the best way to incapaciate her target without causing lethal injury. Most of her ninjutsu techniques were out, as they were expressly designed to kill. Genjutsu was risky, as they weren't her specialty and she wanted her target to be sane enough to talk.

That just left one option. Taijutsu. She didn't mind, though. She picked up a fist size rock from the ground and took careful aim. Using a minute burst of chakra, she threw the rock at her target's head, giving it enough power deliver an incapacitating blow. At the same time, she leapt after her projectile, intent to use it as a distraction to engage her target.

Right before the rock impacted with her target, she twitched her head to the side, and her carefully aimed stone whizzed by with barely a millimeter of clearance. Anko landed on the branch a fraction of a second later and moved to deliver a knockout blow with the heel of her foot, but her target dropped out of the tree before she could connect and plummeted towards the forest floor, deftly weaving through the tree branches below.

Anko smiled grimly and followed. This was even better than she thought. Her target landed in a crouch, and Anko hit the ground next to her just a blink of an eye behind her. She lashed out with a front kick, but her opponent rolled away from her and created some distance.

Her opponent yawned and blinked rapidly as if she were just waking up. She looked at Anko without comprehension, and dismissed her as an afterthought before arching her back, stretching the kinks out of her spine from a night sleeping in a tree.

Anko's grin became feral as she pumped chakra into her legs and really started the fight.

=-=-=-

Ranma yawned and blinked. Okay, this was different. She really didn't remember how she got down out of the tree, but there was a pretty good-looking woman wearing a pretty revealing shirt in a combat stance in front of her.

Judging by the way she held herself, this woman knew her way around a fight. Ranma decided that this must be a dream, because that was the only explanation she could find for the outfit that woman was wearing.

Her certainty that this was not real faded quickly as the woman _moved_. Ranma was faster and managed to avoid the blow aimed at her midsection, but the woman flowed in a way that was nearly impossible to read until the last second. Still sluggish from waking up, Ranma only just managed to avoid her blows during the first rapid exchange before jumping back to create some space.

The woman followed and continued the assault. She was speeding up, and Ranma was hard pressed to keep up, due to the difficulty she was having reading her body language. The woman fought in a style she'd never seen before, which in and of itself was surprising. Not only that, this woman was incredibly good. Ranma didn't get a chance to go on the offensive, though, as a blow got through, catching Ranma in the upper left pectoral, spinning her slightly and breaking her guard. A withering set of blows followed, hammering through her compromised guard. A whip fast round house completed the combo, catching her on the jaw and sending Ranma crashing into a tree a few meters away.

Ranma leapt to her feet and turned to face her opponent. She was fast _and _strong. Those blows had hurt. The woman smirked at her and raised her hand, taunting her with a 'come hither' motion. Fully awake now, Ranma grinned and cracked her neck. Holding her fists up in the air, she slowly made a fist and cracked each joint in her fingers as she stared the woman in the eyes. No holding back this time.

She charged.

=-=-=-

Anko's elation rose when the woman popped up from the combo instantly. Good. This fight wasn't over by a long shot. So far, neither of them had broken out any techniques. So far Anko hadn't felt any chakra from the other woman, which meant this was her natural ability in taijutsu. This was puzzling; if her job was not to be discovered, she'd want to put any enemy ninja out of commission as soon as possible.

She wasn't able to devote anymore time to that that line of thought because her opponent charged. Anko was ready for her, but to her shock her opponent ripped through her guard like it was practically non-existent. She tried to minimize the damage she received, but she took a knee to the sternum, driving the air from her lungs and exposing the back of her head to overhead hammer blow. She hit the ground so hard she bounced nearly to the woman's waist, where she delivered a vicious double punch to the stomach, which sent her careening through the forest until she smashed into a tree.

Okay. Ouch.

Anko got to her feet unsteadily, trying to catch her breath. Her opponent just stood there, guard up but completely relaxed. Anko was grateful the woman was so cocksure she didn't finish the fight immediately. She was going to regret it. Her breath restored, she poured more chakra into her muscles and decided to return the favor.

And was quickly sent to the forest floor with a taijustu combo that she didn't even see. Anko groaned and cursed her stupidity. She should have stopped dicking around after the first exchange and gone for the kill and ended this ages ago. But her love a good fight caused her to make a stupid mistake, which she'd pay for now.

Her opponent backed off again. The bastard was dragging this fight out, obviously enjoying it as much as she was. She seemed content just to fight. Not once had Anko detected any killing intent, nor had her opponent used any ninjutsu or genjutsu yet. It was puzzling, and very strange.

She'd had enough, though. No mister nice Anko. The more this fight dragged out on the taijutsu side, the more likely she was to lose. Anko was a good fighter, but she was better at ninjutsu.

Let's see how she handled some of her other skills, then.

She stood up and made a simple one handed seal, molding chakra into a simple Kanton justsu as a distraction to hide her more serious shots. She was hoping her opponent would dodge or counter, so her other techniques would have a chance. The fireball shot from her fingers towards her target, expanding as it approached. She immediately began preparing for a much more complex raiton jutsu, but let it died when her opponent to yelp and jump to the tree tops.

Anko blinked owlishly at her opponent, who blinked warily back at her. It couldn't be...

She tried another simple jutsu, this time a suiton jutsu, a simple water spout normally used as a diversionary tactic. Her opponent squawked as she was blown off the branch and fell to the forest floor.

Anko's hunch was right. Her opponent didn't know ninjustu. She probably didn't even know how to use chakra! Which meant two things. First, she probably wasn't a ninja. Given her taijutsu skills, the Forest of Death would have been no problem. Second, it meant her ass was grass.

=-=-=-

Ranma was grinning like a maniac now. Whoever this woman was, she was able to meet him step for step. He hoped she could keep it up; It was like fighting a younger version of Ku Lon or Happosai. He could tell she was enjoying it too, but the look of grim determination on her face betrayed that this was much more serious for her than him.

She charged at him. Sloppy. It was much easier reading her body movements now that she'd had a chance to study her a bit. He redirected her first punch, and letting loose with a few Kachutenshin Amaguri ken speed punches, lit up her ribs on one side, sending her to the ground. The woman popped up again, made some weird signs with her hands, and then moved. Ranma smirked and anticipated her charge, ready to take her down again, confident she had the measure of her opponent.

Then the lady threw a fireball at her. Ranma's danger senses screamed out a warning and leapt to the tree tops. The ground where she landed was a charred mess, with embers still smoldering.

That thing, what ever it was, had been seriously powerful. She'd felt nothing. Not a single damn thing, except a small burst of ki, not nearly powerful enough to make a blast that size, and no amount of Ki ever burst into flames like that.

Unless you were Saffron, of course. Ranma looked at the lady warily. She was looking back up at her, clearly surprised as well. Had it been an accident?

The ladies fingers moved, and Ranma was suddenly hit with a strong blast of water, knocking her to the forest floor. She hit the ground with a thud and sprang back to her feet, bewildered and ready for anything.

Or so she thought. Her danger senses flared again, and she dodged a vicious axe kick that came from her left side. Unfortunately, she dodged right into a crushing backhand blow for the other side. She dodged, and saw two smirking copies of her opponent standing there, ready to attack. They launched themselves at her, and Ranma dodged frantically. These were nothing like Ku Lon's technique - they could actually hit. Finally, a solid blow got through and caught her in the thigh as she moved to chamber a kick. It was just a glancing blow, but it was enough to put her off balance. Her opponent followed up with a bruising uppercut that launched her skyward, temporarily stunned. Her opponent leaped into the air to take the fight to her.

Big mistake. This woman didn't know that aerial combat was a specialty of the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling. Before she realized what had happened, Ranma landed a cross-counter on her jaw, causing her to spin and exposing her back. She pulled out all the stops and delivered a series of lighting fast blows to the kidneys, spine, and neck. Gravity was pulling them both back to the ground, and rather than give her time to recover and make a good landing, Ranma's foot swept her legs out from under her, so she landed on her stomach hard enough to knock the breath out of her opponent.

Ranma leapt away, ready to re-engage should it prove necessary. Her opponent's body started to slowly dissolve into a pile of mud. Ranma's eyes bugged out, but didn't have any more time to consider it as two copies of her opponent moved to engage. Ranma grit her teeth and stepped up the pace just a bit more. She had no idea how in the hell the woman was doing this, but she wanted to win this fight. It was time to go all out.

=-=-=-

Safely concealed in a minor genjustu, Anko smirked and watched her mud clones take the fight to the red-headed woman. Even three against one, the woman was still giving better than she got. Who ever the red-head was, she definitely wasn't a ninja. She hadn't used a single common technique to disrupt her clones, and had obviously failed to detect the genjustu she was under. It was interesting to watch the fight, though. The red-head had been holding back, that much was apparent. Another clone died under a withering barrage of punches and dissolved into mud.

Anko made the seals and replaced it with two more.

Four against one, and the red-head was still holding her own. Two clones died in a clever move that redirected their attacks against the wrong target. Three clones immediately sprang up to replace them. At five against one, the red-head was no longer able to effectively counter attack, forced on the defensive. One more clone joined the ranks. More blows were getting in now, and so her opponent changed tactics.

She retreated. Anko gave her credit. The red-head knew her limits, and obviously was very comfortable fighting multiple opponents at once, and had pulled back as soon as she could no longer deal with the numbers.

Having had time to observe her opponent carefully, she could say with authority that she'd never seen anyone using a fighting style like hers. It was incredibly fluid and changable, and very hard to predict. What was more, she could tell that the red-head had already effectively figured out counters for the style that Anko had learned from Orochimaru. It was thrilling to watch, really. From the first exchange, Anko could tell that the woman had never seen the Hebi style. But, her opponent had adapted to it and was now starting to incorporate elements of it into her own fighting style.

The other thing that was remarkable about the red-heads fighting methods is that it was designed to incapacitate.

During the whole time she'd been watching, Anko hadn't seen one killing blow delievered, even though there had been ample opportunity to do so. Rather than ending the fight quickly, the red-head prefered to dodge, block, or worse yet, take a blow in order to incapcitate the opponent she was facing.

It was interesting, and very puzzling. She still fought; she didn't fight like a ninja. Rather than taking on six clones, some kunai with explosive tags would have saved a lot of time and bruises. Or, using killing blows to reduce the amount of time actually spent fighting, to reduce fatigue. It was like someone had created a perfect Taijutsu weapon, and neglected to finish the training and turn it into an effective ninja.

In the time that Anko had been ruminating over the red-head, she had managed to disable all the clones.

She stood standing in the middle of the clearing in a ready posture, eyes scanning back and forth rapidly, looking for her attacker.

Anko let the genjutsu drop. The red-head spun to face her as soon as her presence registered.

Anko waved at her opponent and smiled.

The red-head gave her a puzzled look and a tentatively returned the wave. While her guard was relaxed, Anko started letting hand seals fly as quickly as she could. The water and churned up earth around their battle sight gave her plenty of ammunition for a couple doton jutsu. A couple of mud clones sprang up from the ground, taking the fight to her opponent. Her opponent moved to engage the clones, which left her completely open when Anko molded some chakra for a swamp entrapment technique.

Her opponent's feet sank into the suddenly unstable ground up to the knees. She didn't have time to extricate herself as the clones pressed their advantage, giving Anko time to use another technique. She finished the last hand seal and the ground swelled up around her opponent, slamming her opponent back and forth between walls of mud and stone, before a giant fist of mud slammed into the trapped girl from behind, knocking her out cold.

Anko let out a sigh of relief. Sure, it was anti-climatic, but she was tired of getting her ass handed to her.

She pulled out a radio and contacted the ANBU headquarters. Ibiki would want to see to this one, she was pretty sure.

=-=-=-

End Chapter 1

This was inspired by the Chinese proverb, "over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse."

It means that character is revealed over time.

This will take place mostly in between the time of the Chunin exams and Naruto's departure with Jiraiya for three years. Naruto will not be a main character in this story.

Ranma's much older than Naruto in this (22-23, as opposed to 12). He's closer to Anko's age, though she's a bit older (I'm not sure, but I think she's in her mid 20's at this point in time in the comic, right?)

I've noticed that most of my recent stories tend to be dialog driven. Not that it's necessarily bad, but I recently read _Elantris _by Brian Sanderson and was really amazed by how he was able to move the story along without dialog. It was a masterful piece of writing, and I'd like to try and emulate that with this story (not the plot, but the writing style.)

As always, questions, comments, constructive criticism, and encouragement welcome. Flames used to BBQ.

And yes, I'm still working on A Slight Misunderstanding. Not sure when the next chapter's coming out. Not sure when the next chapter is coming out for this one. Not sure about much, really.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ranma woke up to find she was strapped to a chair in a plain white room. And she was naked. She must have been stripped while she was out of it. The nakedness didn't bother her much; she'd been in weirder situations, and she had a change of clothes stored away in stuff space along with most of her gear. She didn't bother testing the straps on the chair; they were some sort of reinforced leather, but she was confident she could break out them easily enough. But, if the nakedness and the chair hadn't tipped her off, the bare white walls and one way mirror with multiple of ki signatures on the opposite side of it were a pretty clear indication that where ever she was, she wasn't going to be served cake and ice cream anytime soon.

The mirror helped her take in the cell, making the parts she couldn't see by turning her head visible. She could just make out a window with bars behind her the reflection. Judging from its placement and the odd shadows it cast, she was probably below ground. The window was too narrow for a person to crawl out of, and the steel bars running vertically across were embedded in the stone prevented anyone from opening it. The door to the cell seemed to pretty thick, but she couldn't gage accurately since it was set into the wall.

There was only so much examination she could do of the room, so instead Ranma played the fight over again in her mind, picking it apart. Where ever this place was, they had ninjutsu techniques that really worked - they weren't just cheap imitations and tricks like Konatsu used back home. The thought alone was enough to make her positively giddy. The woman she'd fought had a really interesting style. Ranma definitely liked the way she had held back until she struck; it made her body language hard to read and really useful in a fight. Plus, she delivered a decently powerful blow that the loss in power from her not telegraphing her movements was a decent tradeoff.

But she was kicking herself for the stupid mistakes she'd made. She'd been spoiling for a real fight so badly that she let it get in the way of her better judgment and ended up getting pummeled by some weird technique. Now that she knew they were capable of real damage, she wouldn't be caught so flat footed. She'd been hit harder than that by Ryoga many times, but even with her resistance, an unexpected blow totally caught her off guard. She silently vowed it wouldn't happen again.

Ranma contemplated breaking the straps on the chair just to see what would happen, but decided she needed to find out some information before she acted rashly. So far, no real harm had been done to her, and she'd been in enough hostage situations to realize it would be best to be civil, at least initially. To stave off boredom, she began some twitch muscle exercises, starting in her toes and working her way up to her eyebrows. The idea was basically to isolate a single muscle, flex it and hold for three seconds, then relax.

Depending on whom you ask the human body has as many as 850 muscles. Some are completely involuntary and impossible to control, so flexing each muscle in isolation was not only an incredible challenge, it provided ample amusement while she passed the time. It was all about mental control: once she worked her way through each muscle with three second intervals, she shortened it by half a second for each subsequent circuit until each flexion was little more than a rapid twitch. Even though she wasn't a kung fu master, Anything Goes had enough kung fu moves in it that that absolute muscle control was a great asset.

Next time she saw that woman in the mesh bodysuit, she take her down before she'd did any of her ninjutsu techniques. Grinning at thought of a rematch, she kept at her exercises until someone decided to talk to her.

=-=-

Morino Ibiki was watching the prisoner through a one way mirror when Anko came into the observation chamber. The prisoner was bound to a chair in the center of the interrogation room, with a spaced out expression on her face, completely relaxed. Occasionally, some muscles would twitch on her face before reverting back to her vapid expression. Ibiki wasn't alone, of course. Several other ANBU members were in the room, watching the prisoner carefully, taking notes and reporting their observations.

Ibiki had been watching her for at least half an hour. He normally wouldn't take part in a "routine" interrogation like this one, but there were just too many factors in this case that merited his attention. She hadn't moved the whole time, simply staring straight ahead and twitching randomly. Other than tugging at straps that bound her to the chair when she first woke up, she hadn't really done much more than gaze around the room. He'd let the prisoner stew for a couple hours more before he talked to her, but for right now he was content to monitor her reactions, trying to establish a baseline for when the questions came.

He had Anko run through the story of the fight again. All the physical evidence they had found during their examination of the prisoner matched her description of the fight. But, their search had puzzled Ibiki. They found no weapons on the prisoner, nor any other indications of where she might have come from. Her clothing was of a make unrecognized by the intelligence division and their origin of manufacture was untraceable.

He and Anko talked for a bit more, discussing her theories about the prisoner's lack of knowledge of jutsu. He had to agree with her - why make such a skilled taijutsu specialist but neglect training them in even basic jutsus and chakra manipulation? None of it made any sense. The prisoner was betraying none of the nervousness typically associated with even the most professional ninjas caught by the enemy. Being alone and naked in a prison cell made all but the greatest ninja fidget. This person just sat there and did muscle drills.

He recognized to some extent what she was doing. Flexing and relaxing muscles was a good way of keeping blood flowing when tied down or forced to sit in one position for too long. But this was the first time he'd seen someone doing twitch muscle exercises like this. It just further accentuated how skilled she must be in taijustu to have that level of muscular control.

It made him uneasy. He couldn't pinpoint why he was so wary, but unknowns had a way of being lethal in his line of work. A healthy dose of paranoia would keep him alive a lot longer. So, the watched, and waited, and talked about the prisoner. But they didn't have enough information, and until they were ready to start the interrogation, there was little else to do.

=-=-=-

It took a couple hours, but finally someone opened the door. A man in a white animal mask wearing a floor-length black cloak pushed a cloth covered cart into the room. Ranma noted it was a steel door about four inches thick, bolted into stone walls at least half a meter thick. She raised an eyebrow at the security measures, but wasn't surprised considering the fortifications around the window. All thoughts fled as the smells of food rose from the cart.

The mysterious masked person pushed the cart in front of the mirror and removed the cloth, revealing a scrumptious looking display of various foods. Soundlessly, the person retreated and closed the door, leaving the cart in the room. The smell was pretty darn good. Maybe not as good as Kasumi's cooking, but it was enough to make her mouth water, especially since she hadn't eaten a real meal like this in a long time.

The food was really far away from Ranma. It dawned her that when nobody came to release her from the chair that this was just part of the process. Genma used to do this to her all the time, that bastard. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing she was hungry. She went back to her drills, concentrating on her muscles rather than the food. Eventually the food grew cold and the smells dissipated. Sometime later another masked person entered the room and took the food away.

Ranma stared at the one way mirror, her mind churning. If they were anything like her old man, then after the food thing didn't pan out they'd start with threats of violence. She didn't know who these people were, but she contented herself with thinking of all the ways she could pay them back once they finally came into the room. The food came and went again a few hours later. Ranma ignored it, content to just gaze at the mirror, carefully monitoring the ki signatures that moved in and out of the room behind it.

=-=-=

"Hmm…" Ibiki muttered to himself as he looked back at the prisoner. He'd like to think it was just chance, but he knew better. Her eyes had followed him as he shifted around the room, even if the position of her head never changed. He watched as the food cart was wheeled out again. It hadn't had the effect he'd wanted – she'd reacted in a manner that said she'd undergone food deprivations before.

It was just one more thing to make him uneasy. There was little point to continue the psychological games since she seemed to be quite familiar with them. It was time to talk to the prisoner. He tapped Anko on the shoulder and told her to keep watch, just in case. The other ANBU in the room nodded and pulled out a scroll to take notes on the interview.

He turned to close the door of interrogation room was as soon as he entered, using the motion to hide a quick genjustu that would make him seem more trustworthy. It was a small thing, but that was the point. Most people in this situation expected pain and heavy handed techniques. They were so prepared to fight against it they missed the small subtle nudges that revealed the cracks he could exploit later to get to the information he was needed.

He pulled up a chair and sat down across from the redhead, just out of striking distance. He pretended to ignore her as he got comfortable, keeping a trained eye on her expressions as he did so. From this close he should have been able to see her nervousness, but she looked calm as ever.

Interesting.

He chuckled to himself, curious to see how long the calm lasted.

"Hi. I'm Morino. What's your name?"

The red-head blinked. "Ranma."

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, Ranma."

"Fuck that. What the hell did I do to deserve to be strapped down to some freakin' chair?"

And so the game began. Ibiki asked her questions, and Ranma generally avoided answering or said something rude. This was a crucial part of the game; Ibiki had to know what kind of baseline she had when facing questions so that he could know what was the truth, and what was the cover. The initial rounds of questioning stretched for nearly fifteen minutes, asking mostly benign questions that he already knew the answers too. Like, how had she found the village, which path did she take to get here, did she get in a fight with anyone? She simply refused to answer or asked to be released because she hadn't done anything wrong. So far, her personality seemed to match what he had seen in the observation room. She seemed to possess a fairly high intelligence level, good self control, and little shame of being exposed. She was still fairly civil, even if her language was a bit crude.

It was as he expected, so it was time to move to the next stage of information extraction.

At his signal, his assistant brought in a wheeled cart of his various implements of torture. Ibiki slowly began to ratchet up the strength of the genjustu during this round of questioning; incrementally instilling in his subject the perception that he was someone she could, and should, talk to. Without a word, Ibiki pulled back the sheet covering his tools and revealed the various knives, pinchers, and other implements. He picked up a small thin blade and tested the edge with his thumb. The prisoner cocked her head at him as he did and stared intently. Ibiki was pretty straight forward. He stated he wanted some answers, and they could make this as painful as Ranma wanted.

=-=-=-

Ranma's thoughts were racing. The guy standing in front of her was testing the edge of one of his blades, his body exuding a slight amount of ki that were doing funny things to her senses. She had no idea what it was, but it started when he closed the door and only got stronger as he asked her questions.

_Fuck this._

Whatever this sicko wanted, she didn't want to take part. Time to pull a Genma, then. Ranma let her ki flood her muscles and pulled, parting the leather straps like wet paper. Before the guy in front of her could react, she kicked him in the chest, sending him through the mirror. She'd caught him just below the sternum, to make sure he was out of breath and unsteady for a couple of minutes and sent him flying into where two of the ki signatures were clustered. The guy's body broke through the glass and impacted heavily against the two masked people standing there, sending all three against the wall with enough force to put them down for a bit. The chick that she had fought in the first place was standing behind the mirror looking at her in shock. With a smirk, Ranma unleashed a small ki blast at her just as she started to move. The lady wasn't fast enough, though, and the ball of ki caught her in the back as she dove for the floor. Ranma raced to the window touched her fingers at the breaking point in each corner, sending dust and stone fragments flying into the air.

=-=-=-

Ibiki would have groaned if he had the breath to do so. It took him a while to get to his feet as his eyes watered from lack of oxygen. He wanted nothing more than to hunch over and clutch his stomach, but knew that it would only take him longer to catch his breath if he restricted his air flow. His head was spinning from the force of the blow, and between that and the lack of oxygen, he was afraid of losing consciousness. His two colleagues were unconscious already, having absorbed most of the force that sent him through the glass and into the back wall. Using the wall behind him for support, he forced himself to stand. Unfortunately, four loud explosions sent him to the ground again and made his ears ring.

He got back up as quickly as he could, but the dust made difficult to see. But he didn't need to see clearly to know that there was too much light in the room. Out of breath and in no real condition to fight, he pulled out a kunai and staggered through the broken mirror into the interrogation room, only to find a gaping hole where the window had been. With a curse, Ibiki crawled back through the mirror and shouted down the hall, calling for some medics and alert the ANBU to the security breach.

Ibiki knelt to check on Anko. Judging by how much she was swearing she was fine, but nursing a nasty bruise on her back. He shook his head. Another mystery. Why use a non-lethal technique with enough force to incapacitate, even temporarily, a special Jonin? She'd had the advantage of surprise, and with the access to weapons in the interrogation chamber could have easily taken him out given how fast she moved.

He stood back up and grunted. The red-head had hit him hard. Still, he needed to follow. Anko was starting to stir, so he didn't worry about her too much. Instead, he put the handle of the kunai in his mouth and walked through the decimated interrogation room to the broken window. He grabbed the fragment of steel sticking out of the upper portion of what was left of the window and pulled himself up into the shaft that lead upwards, shimmying up the culvert after the prisoner that had escaped.

=-=-=

The dust had settled a bit by the time Anko managed to stand. She was in no condition to really fight at this point. Instead, she headed to the cell and opened the door. The clean up team hadn't arrived yet, so she had the room alone for a few seconds. She walked to the chair, looking at the straps. They were definitely torn, too - not cut. What that red-head had done shouldn't have been possible; this chair suppressed chakra. And yet, she'd been able to get out of the chair and hit Ibiki hard enough to send him through the mirror and crack the concrete wall behind him.

From what she could see, none of the torture implements were missing from Ibiki's cart. The window was completely blasted, the four corners of the concrete shattered and most of the metal bars gone. Everything was covered with a decent layer of grit. Ibiki's footprints were very clear, as were the scuff marks his shoes made as he had climbed his way out. Anko frowned. There was something about Ibiki's footprints that bothered her.

Suddenly wary, she looked up, scanning the room.

In the corner of the room opposite of the window and closest to the mirror, the redhead was braced against the ceiling, a wicked grin on her face. Anko didn't even have time to shout before she saw stars, followed quickly by merciful unconsciousness.

=-=-=-

Ibiki frowned as he took in the scene. It was funny, if you thought about it, but Anko didn't seem to agree. She was currently tied down to the very same chair that the redhead had been in previously, naked and gagged.

The ANBU captain next to him was enjoying the show. Ibiki sent him away with instructions to notify the Hokage. With a silent nod, the ninja slipped out of the room, leaving Konoha's interrogation chief alone with Anko. He admired the handiwork of the escapee and took in a bit of the scenery. Anko glared at him, of course, but he figured her anger was worth the view.

He had only been gone a couple of minutes when he figured out he'd been duped. In that time, the prisoner had managed to incapacitate Anko, strip her, and turn her mesh bodysuit into strips to tie her to the chair. And then she slipped out of the ANBU interrogation unit, completely unnoticed, through the front door, having the courtesy to leave Anko's trench coat hanging on a hook by the entrance.

He was starting to really like this girl. Too bad he'd have to kill her whenever caught her. He pulled off her gag as he reached for a scalpel and cut away her bindings. Anko spit out the gag as soon as it was loose enough.

"When we find that bitch, I'm going to kill her."

=-=-=-

Ranma munch contentedly on an apple, finally male and fully clothed. Sure, he wasn't exactly thrilled about what he was wearing, but it fit and didn't make him standout, which was more important. The first thing he'd done upon escaping was to find some hot water. There had been a local Ramen not far from the exit, and under the cloak of the Umisenken, he'd been able to slip in unnoticed and grab some hot water. He then stole a couple of items of clothing from various houses until he had enough for an outfit and grabbed some fruit from another house, but was careful not to take enough of anything to really be noticed.

Because right now, he wanted just to watch. For the last couple of hours he'd been sitting unobtrusively in a quiet spot with lots of foot traffic, trying to understand exactly what kind of city this was. Lots of people he saw looked like they were straight out of an NHK Japanese samurai drama, walking around in kimono and wooden sandals. He'd labeled them as civilians, as they didn't seem to have any type of combat training but didn't seem bothered by the large amount of combat ninja he'd seen jumping around the city.

There were loads of those combat ninjas she'd followed to this village hopping around the rooftops in masks, trying to be unobtrusive. For the most part, they had succeeded, as the people around didn't seem to notice. Other people, mostly younger but dressed similarly, had noticed, though. They looked up to the roof-tops and nervously fingered weapons strapped to their thighs, whispering furtively to each other whenever civilians were out of earshot.

The city was some weird fusion of old Japanese architecture, modern skyscrapers, and outdated electrical equipment. The whole town was dominated by a large mountain with some faces carved on it, visible from pretty much any part of the city. Immediately below the mountain sat a rather large fortress looking building, and most of the combat ninja he'd seen were either coming from there or going there.

Making a note to avoid that place if at all possible, Ranma couldn't decide if he wanted to stay around or get the hell out of Dodge. They'd already proven that they were willing to hit first and ask questions later. A quick check of his remaining supplies in stuff space decided for him, though. He was too low on supplies right now to go back into those woods. Supplies meant money, and money meant he had to appear in public. Considering the number of ninjas running around, though, he wasn't sure it was worth it.

He slid into the pedestrian traffic and headed towards the central market, hoping to find some way to solve his money problems without getting in over his head.

=-=-=-=-

Sarutobi frowned as he listening to Ibiki with half an ear, scanning the damage report on his desk. The Hokage didn't need Ibiki to finish his recounting the prisoner's escape. The very fact he was here was enough to tell him everything he needed to know.

"The prisoner remains at large, then?"

Ibiki nodded. "Yes."

Sarutobi pointed at the list on his desk. "I see no casualties reported."

"There were none, sir."

This caused him to raise an eyebrow. "You're telling me this person broke out of one of our fortified interrogation cells without a single loss?"

"Yes sir. There were minor injuries, but nothing debilitating. Anko probably received the worst injury, and the medic nins cleared her to return to active duty already."

"Interesting. Your thoughts?"

"Based on the limited data we were able to collect is that even though the subject in question is highly trained in some fields, I do not believe she has been trained as a ninja."

Sarutobi could tell he had a theory, so he instructed him to continue. He listened in with interest as the head of his interrogation division theorized that the escaped prisoner may have been trained to fulfill some sort of enforcement roll. After analyzing the attacks favored by the subject, her attack patterns seemed focused on non-lethal incapacitation techniques.

"That gets to the root of the problem. Where did she come from, Ibiki? Why is she here?"

Ibiki shrugged. "It may be possible she didn't know where she was. She showed no recognition of any of the leaf symbols that Konoha uses on our uniforms. She seemed also to be completely unaware of the significance of different uniforms. As unlikely as it seems, she may have legitimately been lost."

The Hokage nodded. "Have you contacted Kakashi or the Inuzaka's yet?"

Ibiki nodded.

"Ibiki?"

"Yes sir?"

"Take her alive if possible. But don't risk anyone."

Ibiki bowed and left. Sarutobi refilled his pipe, reflecting on the strange report he'd just heard. Things like this made him deeply uneasy. His responsibility to Konoha meant he couldn't relax until this issue was resolved. Like any old ninja, he was scared of the unknown. The Hokage had a responsibility to protect his people from danger, and he couldn't do that if he didn't know what the danger was.

=-=-=-

"What have you got, Pakkun?" Kakashi knelt next to the dog as he followed the scent. The dog looked confused.

"It just… disappeared. The scent leads up to here," he pawed at the ground, "and then… nothing." Pakkun stuck his nose back in the dirt. "But then a new scent begins just a couple of feet away."

Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed as he thought furiously. He could only think of a few things that completely erased scents, and there was little evidence to suggest any of them had been used here. Sure, there was a small puddle of water on the ground near where the scent vanished, but not enough to wash it away.

"Let's follow the new scent. Send the rest of the pack around looking for the old scent to see if you can find it somewhere else." Kakashi took out a small scroll the size of a cigarette and opened it. He took a second to scribble out a brief note on it for the Hokage. "Do you think we should include this scent in my letter so the Inuzaka know to look for it too?"

Pakkun nodded. "It would be a good idea."

"Show me where I can get a good sample, then."

Pakkun sniffed around and found a spot where there weren't too many competing odors. "Here."

Kakashi nodded and rubbed the surface of the scroll on the spot indicated. He held it up to Pakkun's nose for approval, and satisfied it carried enough scent to be useful, he rolled it up and sealed it before summoning a falcon with a small whistle. A bird arrived in a couple of minutes. Kakashi tied the scroll to the bird's leg and launched it into the air, watching as it took off in the direction of the Hokage's tower. With a nod from Kakashi, Pakkun took off after the new scent, the copy-cat ninja following closely behind.

=-=-=-=-

The afternoon hunt had not been a successful one for Ranma. Frustrated, hungry, and increasingly nervous, he turned away from the group of civilians rolling dice in an alley and continued searching for some pit fights. He wasn't holding his breath, though. The few times he'd mentioned it, people had just given him a funny look, even in the seedier places he had visited. He guessed it made sense. With so many trained combat specialists running around, it would be pretty foolish to fight in an underground circuit.

That just left the typical forms of vice people engaged in around the world – gambling, drinking, and whoring. He had no particular desire to engage in any of those. But he was in a catch-22; he needed some cash for supplies, and pit fights were about the only way of making some quick cash without having any money. Gambling required having some money to bet, and he sucked at it anyway.

The same was true of various games of skill he'd witnessed. All of them required some initial cash outlay, and most of them were being played by the very ninja's he was trying to avoid, it all but ruled it out. If he didn't figure something out soon he'd eventually have to steal some money. He was loath to do that unless absolutely necessary because he didn't want to be like his useless old man.

The alley turned out onto a minor thoroughfare lined with shops and stalls. Ranma slid into the crowd, winding his way through the people while scouting for other possible opportunities to make some quick cash. Above him, masked ninjas jumped to and fro, but he carefully avoided looking up like the rest of the crowd in order not to raise suspicions. He let the flow of bodies pull him along until the street emptied into a minor square that he'd been in a few times before.

Unlike the last time he was here, however, a large pocket of empty space surrounded a ninja on the other side. He had spiky hair and no mask, but his face was covered. Worse, he was kneeling on the ground next to a dog, and that dog was sniffing a crate that Ranma had sat on earlier.

_Shit_.

This was not good. If they were using dogs in their search, it would only be a matter of time before they found him. No longer caring about supplies, Ranma decided it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. Careful not to draw attention to himself by suddenly pushing against the crowd, he worked his way towards the outside edge of the traffic so he could head in the direction of the nearest exit of the city. Moving as nonchalantly as he could, he headed down an alley that lead in the direction where he estimated the city wall would be.

It took him nearly fifteen minutes to find it, but when he drew within site of the massive gate he'd seen earlier, he saw a pair of ninja with a dog standing by the exit, sniffing each person as they walked past. Rather than risk it, he turned around and headed for another gate. His speed was constrained so as to not raise attention; it took him nearly thirty minutes to walk. No dice. This one was also manned by a dog, examining people as they left. One gate would be chance, but two gates meant that all public exits would probably be guarded as well.

He turned away and wandered at random, sticking to the back alleys and smaller streets so he could move a bit faster. Jogging lightly through a deserted side street, he didn't have time to react as he got hit in the face with a large quantity of dirty water tossed out a window above him. Sputtering and stumbling as her vision was obscured, he became a she right as the alley turned onto a main street.

She stepped out into full daylight, female, wet, blinded, and cursing her luck. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking as she dried off her face with her sleeve, causing her to bump into someone. She apologized and looked up to see who she'd bumped into. The shock on the other person's face must have mirrored her expression.

Ranma cursed bitterly as she ducked the lighting fast punch that came at her, just barely dodging in time. Of all the fucking people she had to bump into, why did it have to be the chick she'd tied to a chair with her own body suit? Ranma didn't ponder fate's sense of humor, though. She unleashed a withering barrage of kicks and punches against the woman in front of her, crushing her defenses and sending her careening against a wall.

The crowd instantly vanished. Ranma didn't give the woman a chance to recover. She crossed the distance in a flash and hit some pressure points on the side of her neck, sending the woman into unconsciousness. She caught her as she fell and leaned her gently against one of the walls, but there was no avoiding the fact that she'd been discovered. She could feel several powerful ki signatures heading her way.

With no reason to try and act like a civilian anymore, she leapt to the roof tops and headed towards the wall that towered over the buildings and lead to freedom. She ran as fast as she could, hoping she had enough time to make over the wall before she was caught. However, several of the ki signatures she could feel coming towards her would cut her off before she could make it.

With an oath, she poured on a touch more speed. The wall was still half a click away when she ran into her first opponent. It was one of the masked combat ninjas. She didn't even slow down as she dodged the sword swipe that came in her direction. She weaved under the strike and planted her fist in the man's stomach, knocking the breath out of him and blasting him off the roof. She couldn't afford to pause because more ninjas were arriving by the second.

By the time she was only a hundred meters from the wall, she was surrounded by a loose ring of masked ninjas. Even though there were only six of them, they all had swords out and looked ready. Ranma carefully evaluated her opponents, and decision made, sprinted towards the one she judged to be the slowest, anticipating a sword strike. She wasn't disappointed. She spun under his slash, grabbed his wrist as she moved and using her strength, flung him at the ninja that stood between her and the direction she wanted to go. The other ninja was able to react in time and move out of the way, but by doing so gave her an opening she could sprint through.

At fifty meters out, she was forced to dodge again as a green blur streaked through where her head had been just a millisecond before. The man was wearing one of the most horrible green spandex outfits she'd ever seen, and had an equally hideous haircut to match. But the man was fast and he could fight, because she suddenly, was forced on the defensive, dodging through a flurry of kicks and punches. Even with her skills, a few blows still managed to get through. A punch took her in the face, knocking her head back. A kick slid through her guard, catching her in the thigh.

She gave as good as she got though, managing to land an elbow to the sternum in exchange for the blow the face, and a punishing punch to the attacker's knee in exchange for the kick. But the real problem was that this exchange brought her forward momentum to a complete halt, and the sounds of feet landing on roof tiles resonated with each additional person that arrived.

The late-comers joined in, taking potshots at her exposed back. She dodged a thrown knife with a jerk of her head, but not before it cut her cheek. Against this many opponents, she only had one option. With a snarl, Ranma moved with the blows, falling into the Soul of Ice as she stepped into the familiar spiral pattern, trying to keep her spandex clad attacker between her and the other ninjas. A shallow gash took her across the back from a sword blow not dodged in time, and other small cuts and wounds blossomed.

Blood flowed into her right eye as another throwing knife sliced her eyebrow open, blinding her somewhat and allowing the first throwing star to make it through her defenses to sink into her right thigh. Even though the damage was minimal, it slowed her enough that her opponent started landing more blows and opening her up to more thrown weapons. Others followed quickly, taking advantage of her reduced mobility striking her forearms, calves, and other exposed surfaces. She didn't have time to pull them out as she concentrated on finishing her spiral.

Near the end of her reserves, she almost sighed with relief when she felt enough ki was swirling in the air to trigger the attack. With a roar, she shouted "Hi Ryu Shoten HA!" and unleashed a burst of cold ki while delivering a punishing uppercut to the spandex clad ninja who'd caused her so much grief.

The tornado that sprang up was not as large as she expected, but it worked. The ninja around her were sucked into the air, trapped in the vortex. The way to the wall was clear, but she could see more ninja closing on her position in the distance. Tired and bloody, she made for the wall while pulling out throwing stars lodged in her body and flinging them at the ninja in the distance. Moving hurt; she was in worse shape than she cared to admit; her back burned where she'd been cut, and she was starting to feel a bit light headed from the loss of blood. The tornado died down just as she put her hand on the wall, and she listened with grim satisfaction to the sound of bodies crashing to the roof tiles.

The wall was perfectly smooth, offering no hand holds or other purchase. On any other day, the twenty meter span above her would have presented no difficulties to jump over. But right now she was too tired and too injured attempt it. Resigned, she turned around and put her back on the wall to see a wall of ninjas advancing on her position. With a smirk, she staggered away from the wall towards the nearest opponent. He underestimated her badly as he attacked, thinking her injuries limited her effectiveness. They did, but she still had enough reserves to make him pay. She disarmed her opponent with her right hand and knocked him out with a vicious rising kick, but it wasn't enough. For every one she person she took down, two more attacked. They were fresh and she was tired, and eventually someone managed to get in a blow that knocked her silly and sent her careening into the wall.

Unable to maintain balance, she slid down the wall desperately fighting to maintain consciousness. She could see the kick coming at her face but couldn't react in time to block it.

=-=-=-

The Hokage puffed on his pipe furiously as he looked down at the red-head in the hospital bed. She was covered in bandages, but none of her wounds were seriously debilitating. That was probably the part that frightened him the most.

"So you're saying that this girl managed to incapacitate or disable nearly fifteen ANBU, Anko, and you without a single ninjutsu technique?" The Hokage looked down at her medical chart. "And during all this, she only managed to sustain light puncture wounds, a major but not fatal laceration, and major contusions. Basically, if she hadn't passed out from blood loss, she was still functionally operational."

Might Guy nodded, his face completely serious. "Yes sir. Though, she did use a wind based technique that gave me this." He pointed to his left arm, currently in a sling. He was also limping slightly, but they were minor injuries. That didn't help the Hokage's mood any, though. "I don't think I have ever seen a more skilled taijutsu specialist in my life."

"Better than you?" The Hokage shifted the pipe in his mouth.

Guy hesitated. Finally, he nodded. "Hard to say, but it is possible. I hadn't removed my weights, but she was fighting against multiple opponents and still managed to disable me." He frowned. "But what puzzles me is she doesn't fight with the intent to kill."

"Explain."

Guy nodded. "It is easier to kill than to incapacitate. Someone this skilled certainly knows lethal moves. Had she used the more… expedient methods, she could have escaped and avoided injury. Why go through the trouble of disarming and then disabling an opponent when a simple surgical strike would remove that variable from the battle? It doesn't make sense."

"Nothing about this does." The Hokage frowned. Just what the hell had they gotten into here? "Anything else to report?"

Guy shook his head. "No sir. But, I think if she hadn't run into Anko, she would have made it out of here."

"I agree. It was just dumb luck that we managed to capture her." Sarutobi turned to leave. "Post a guard. I want her restrained as well. Use lethal force if she attempts to escape again. I don't care how much collateral damage it would cause. Notify me as soon as she wakes up. I want Kakashi, Ibiki, and you there as well. Oh, and Anko, too, if she's available."

"Are you sure that is wise, sir?"

The Hokage shook his head. "No, but I need to do it. Too much about this is bugging me."

=-=-=-

"She's coming too."

Ranma grunted softly as she woke up. It was a struggle to open her eyes due to crust that had formed on them, but finally she managed to get the left one open. Blinking stupidly as her eye adjusted to the light, the details of the room slowly came into focus. She was in some sort of hospital bed, and there were a number of stern looking faces looking down at her.

She recognized at least two of them with a sinking feeling. One was the sicko with the knife she'd escaped from earlier, and the other was the ninja lady she'd fought to start this whole mess. If those two were here, that didn't bode well for her.

A rather stern looking old man's face came into view. He was wearing some sort of funky hat that looked like a rice farmer's hat, but it had a red character for fire on it and trailing white fabric that draped around his shoulders. He spoke once her eyes had focused on him.

"Good. You are awake. Do you understand me?"

Ranma tried to nod but couldn't move her head.

The older man smiled. It wasn't a pleasant look. "You've been restrained. Do not attempt to move." He pulled out a small knife and held it up to her vision, then lowered his hand towards her chin. The blade moved beyond her range of vision but then she felt the prick of the blades edge resting lightly against her windpipe. "Any attempt to escape means we will kill you instantly. Do you understand?"

Ranma tried to speak but failed. Swallowing carefully to clear her throat, she could feel the blade just on the edge of cutting. She finally managed to rasp out that she understood. The old man stared down at her hard for a second before motioned out of her range of vision. The blade was lifted and she felt a straw hit her lips and fluid flowing into her mouth.

"Drink," commanded the old man. The old man pinched her nose shut. It was either swallow or spit it out, and the latter option didn't seem to wise a move given the looks of the people above her and the cold steel that had been against her throat. She swallowed, and the liquid had a bitter and slightly viscous taste, comparable to something Akane had cooked.

Making a noise of disgust, worked her tongue in her mouth to try and wash away the flavor with some saliva. "God, what was that stuff? That was horrible!"

The old man nodded. "It should be. It was poison. Unless the antidote is administered within the next hour, your organs will start to fail. First your liver function will cease, then your kidneys. It won't kill you immediately, but by the time your heart starts to fail in twelve hours, you'll be glad to know you'll be dead shortly."

Ranma swallowed as sweat broke out across her body. The man had delivered that in a matter of fact tone that made her believe he wasn't lying.

"What do you want?"

The old man smiled. "Ah, good. Progress." He pointed over to the sicko she'd escaped from earlier. "This is my associate. He's going to ask you some questions. If he's satisfied with your answers, then he'll administer the antidote. If not… well, let's just hope you satisfy him."

=-=-=-

"Well?" The Hokage looked up from his paperwork as Ibiki came into his office.

Ibiki cleared his throat. "It is a… very strange case, sir."

Pausing in his work, the Hokage sat up straight, paperwork forgotten. Ibiki was never this… uncertain. "Tell me, then." Reaching to his desk drawer, he pulled out his pipe and stuffed it with some fresh leaf, listening with only half an ear to Ibiki's initial report as he went through the motions of lighting his pipe. The details were minor. Their unknown ninja was named Ranma Saotome, age twenty-four, born in Nerima, Tokyo.

The Hokage nearly dropped his pipe. "Excuse me? What? Tokyo? In which country is this Tokyo located?"

Ibiki shrugged. "That's just it, sir. Ranma stated that it was in a country called Japan. I've never heard of such a place, and I've had specialists checking every map we can find. There is no mention of this country anywhere."

Pipe forgotten, the Hokage leaned forward and rested his elbow on the desk before him. "Continue, please."

Ibiki's briefing was pretty concise. Ibiki claimed that Ranma seemed to have absolutely no knowledge of where he was, the name of the city she was in, or any other knowledge of the surrounding area. However, she was able to converse at length and in great detail about her supposed country of origin, and she had limited knowledge of chakra.

"And you believe this?"

Ibiki hesitated. "I have to. Her lack of knowledge of even the most mundane things is total. But his ability to discuss his supposed home is too detailed to be just a cover. Of course, it could be that her memory has been modified."

"Seems like an incredible waste of time to do a modification that extensive. Why erase all knowledge of any country in this world?"

Ibiki shrugged, clearly at a loss.

The Hokage leaned back. "And yet she speaks our language."

Ibiki nodded. "She speaks it. Although I must admit, the accent and terminology she uses I have never heard before." Ibiki hesitated.

"Yes?"

"There was one other thing, sir." Ibiki looked down at his papers.

The Hokage blinked. Ibiki looked… uncertain. "Yes?"

"This Ranma… she claims to be male."

=-=-=-

Ranma was sweating profusely as the old man came walking into the room. He was accompanied by the sicko. It had been over an hour since she'd drank to poison, and she could feel a burning sensation in her liver, and heat spreading throughout her limbs.

The old man walked up to the bed. She looked up at him defiantly. "What?"

He ignored her, instead turning to one of the ANBU guards in the room. "Hot water and cold water, please."

The guard nodded and vanished, returning moments later with two glasses of water. With some trepidation, the old man poured the hot water over her body.

The curse was triggered instantly, but unfortunately the straps didn't change to accommodate the change his body size. The pain was immense as various parts of his body were immediately crushed. With a scream Ranma thrashed violently, only to be given relief in the form of cold water hitting him in the face, reversing the change.

Panting furiously, she glared up at the old man. "Happy now, you old fart?"

The look of shock on his face was almost worth the pain. He blinked a couple times from beneath his hat, and then turned towards her interrogator.

"Administer the antidote." With that, the old men turned on his heels and left.

=-=-=-

The next week was spectacularly boring for Ranma, at least. Thankfully, they had loosened the straps a bit and allowed him to change into his natural form, so it wasn't all bad. He spent a majority of his time talking to the sicko, who he learned was named Morino. Ranma still called him all manner of unflattering names, but at least he wasn't being threatened with physical harm or weird substances again. There were other visitors, too.

The woman he'd tied up came as well, mostly just to leer at his body through the thin hospital gown and make suggestive comments. Her name was Anko, but he privately called her Psycho, because she and Sicko seemed to be best buds. She was occasionally funny but a bit on the intense side. Her outfits were ridiculously revealing and always tried her best to make him uncomfortable when she visited by posing suggestively and using blunt innuendo, but her body, as nice as it was, wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that he found her attractive and so sank into the Soul of Ice whenever she visited to keep in control.

Whatever.

Occasionally, the old man would come and talk to him about stuff he'd been talking to Sicko about, and so Ranma was forced to retell the same stories. They seemed to focus almost as much on how he learned martial arts as about where he came from and how he got here.

The questions jumped from topic to topic. He sketched (well, actually he lay in bed as someone else held the paper and pencil and followed his instructions) a chart of the stars from back home, what a typical car looked like, and other stuff they wanted to know about. It was weird. He'd yet to really see any machines here, but they definitely had electricity.

They wouldn't let him out of bed, though. Frustrated and increasingly bored, he tried to make up training exercises he could do while pretty much completely immobilized. They hadn't tried to give him anything else besides food, but they still didn't seem to trust him, as they had at least four guards posted at each corner of his room. If he got too restless and started shifting around too much, then the guards got nervous and drew out their weapons.

So he just lay there and stared at the ceiling, wishing he could scratch the itching that his healing wounds caused. At least the food wasn't too rotten.

=-=-=-

The Hokage stood before the council, making his case. There was of course no way he could have kept Ranma a secret, but by going publicly before the council, he was able to do a bit of damage control, preventing unwanted information from leaking out, or at least buy some time.

It had taken a lot of maneuvering to present this to the council. Of course, as the Hokage, it was within his authority to accept missing-nin into the village. Given the rather public manner in which Ranma had been apprehended, thought, knew that if he didn't do so with the approval of the village council, then they would be plotting behind his back to discover what secrets they might and use that to their advantage. Of course, open disclosure wouldn't prevent that, but they'd have to be a bit more circumspect in their investigations, which took time. Time was always a valuable commodity.

They bickered and fought like little old ladies, but in the end were forced to bow to the "wisdom" of his decision. He managed to get an almost unanimous support for his decision, the one notable abstention being Danzo, of course. Pleased with this minor victory, the Hokage returned to his dreaded paperwork and summoned Anko. He drafted the orders while he waited.

She was munching on some dango as she was ushered into his office. "Sit." He pointed to towards a chair as he finished the second set of orders. Waiting for the ink to dry, he placed his stamp at the bottom of the document and fished out a seal and some sealing wax and lit it on fire. Satisfied it the wax was properly hot enough, he rolled up the scroll and smeared a blob of hot wax on edge and pressed his seal into it, making an impression and also keeping it shut.

He blew on it gently to help it harden, and after a slow ten count pulled the seal away. He grabbed one of the scrolls on his desk and tossed it to Anko, who snatched it out of the air.

"May I?"

The Hokage nodded.

Anko broke the seal and unfurled the scroll, her eyes scanning down the text rapidly. She looked back at him. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

With a grin, the Hokage stood. "Nope. I'm not. Now, keep in mind, this is still conditional."

"On what, exactly?" She asked, warily.

"On Ranma, of course." He walked to the door. "I'm going to see him right now. Do you want to come, or not?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

With a sigh, Anko pocket the scroll and stood to follow.

The Hokage paused as he passed her. "I was expecting a bit more… argument."

Anko shrugged. "Given how good he is, I'm not expecting this to take long. I can put up with anything for a little while."

=-=-=-

Ranma was busy chowing down when the Hokage walked into the room. It was quite amusing to watch, actually, considering he was still strapped to the bed and didn't have much use of his arms. Most restrained patients were fed via tube, but Ranma had asked for solid food. Given that he couldn't really reach his mouth, he'd found a rather clever solution by requesting self contained finger foods and enough mobility in one hand to flex his fingers. They place the tray next to his waiting hand and the pig-tailed martial artist used his fingers to launch food into the air to land with great precision into his waiting mouth.

He hadn't missed yet in the two days he'd been doing this. There was a running bet among the ANBU about how many shots he could make before he missed.

Ranma swallowed his mouthful of food and squirmed a bit while waggling his fingers. It was about the closest he could manage to a wave given his current state.

"Yo, how ya doing." Ranma grunted as Anko came into his line of sight. "Oh, and Psycho too! Heya, Psycho! 'Sup?"

"Shut up, Ranma."

He stuck his tongue out. "Gonna make me?"

"Yes, actually."

The Hokage cleared his throat. Anko blushed a bit and backed down. "Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"How would you like to be released?"

Ranma's posture stiffened. "You kiddin'?"

The Hokage pulled a scroll out of his pocket. "No. But you present some… unique challenges to us."

"So?"

Sarutobi stepped up closer to the bed. "I've managed to secure your release, but you have surely realized by now that we have certain… security requirements. My most pressing priority is the safety of this village and its inhabitants. Until I can be sure of your intentions, I cannot allow you leave Konoha. As such, the council that agreed to your release imposed certain conditions."

Ranma's eyes narrowed a bit. After dealing with Nabiki so much, he was wary of any sort of strings. "What conditions?"

The Hokage opened the scroll. "Firstly, until such time that your intentions towards Konoha has been proven to be harmless, you will be under twenty-four hour armed surveillance. This will be both overt and covert. Any attempt to evade your escort will result in immediate use of deadly force."

Ranma blinked. "Are you shittin' me?"

"Not one bit. The alternative is indefinite imprisonment."

Ranma grunted.

"Indeed." The Hokage looked down at his scroll again. "To that effect, I've assigned Anko as your overt security escort, effective immediately."

Ranma wrinkled his nose. "I don't get a choice?"

"No, you don't." Sarutobi stared directly into Ranma's eyes. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Ranma blinked. "Not really. She's easy enough on the eyes, but I'm afraid she's try to either beat me up or jump me. I can't tell at this point which one it is."

Behind the Hokage, Anko growled. Sarutobi chuckled. "Be that as it may, I think she is suited for the task. At any rate, the second condition is that you will regularly be interviewed by our interrogation department and evaluated by the Hokage."

"Who's the Hokage?"

"Me."

"Oh, right!" Ranma grinned sheepishly.

"Shall I continue?" The Hokage hefted the scroll.

Ranma nodded, or at least as much as he could given the restraints.

"Thirdly, you shall not be permitted to leave the village unsupervised until you have proven your intentions towards the village."

"Prove my intentions? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that we need to be assured that you harbor no malice towards us."

Ranma snorted. "Doing a great job of that so far, old man!" Ranma narrowed his eyes. "You want me to be friendly with you guys? Well, how about you let me the fuck up? 'Cause, let me tell you, being tied down is how I usually go about making friends! I made an honest mistake and came here by accident, and now you guys are limiting my freedom and threatening my life. How in the hell am I supposed to prove I mean no harm if you're treating me like a criminal?"

Sarutobi nodded. "A valid question. But lives – a lot of lives – are on the line here, Ranma. I cannot afford to take that chance." The Hokage clutched the scroll in both hands behind his back. "It will take time for you to prove yourself to us. One of the ways I intended to do that is to offer you a job within my forces."

"Wait. What?" Ranma blinked. "Why? First you threaten me, and now you're offering me a job? What's the catch?"

"You are the catch. You are… skilled. I want those skills to protect my village."

Ranma frowned. "I'm not a mercenary."

"I know. I wouldn't have made this offer if you were. Mercenaries are not trustworthy. You, however, have the opportunity to prove that you are worthy of my trust. You made an honest mistake. However, I would be a fool not to try and turn this to my advantage. You'll have the chance to train under an instructor appointed by me. Once you've attain the rank of Chunin, some, but not all, of the restrictions upon you will be relaxed. Your ANBU guard will remain constant for some time, I fear."

"ANBU?" Ranma gestured with his eyes to one of the cloaked sentinels in the corners of the room. The masked dudes, right?"

"Right." The Hokage cleared his throat. "The final condition is that you will pay all medical bills and renovations as necessary you caused to ANBU and the environs during your fight."

Ranma winced. "Hey, that's not really fair, is it? I mean, I didn't want to fight them. I wouldn't have hurt them if they'd a let me go."

The Hokage shrugged. "Be that as it may, the council still holds you responsible. You owe quite a hefty sum." The Hokage sighed dramatically. "You have an opportunity to serve Konoha and repay the damage caused in your escape. It's either that, or we keep you locked up for the rest of your life, or we simply kill you. The final solution is much cheaper and easier for us, but I'm reluctant to use it, considering you were considerate enough not to kill any of my men during your escape."

Ranma snorted. "Tough choice. Option one, please."

"Glad you agree." The Hokage looked down at Ranma. "Unfortunately, an oath of loyalty would never be enough to satisfy the conditions of the council. They also insisted you swallow this." The Hokage held up a blue pill the size of a gumball.

Ranma's eyed the blue pill nervously. "That ain't candy, is it?"

The Hokage shook his head ruefully. "It isn't, unfortunately. Like before, this is a poison. Only, unlike the last one, it's been designed to kick in at some point between a week and a month in the future. Once it kicks in, you'll have about twelve hours to get an antidote from me."

"What's the point, then?" Ranma glared up at the old man, making no point at hiding his anger. "Why sugar-coat it like you're doing me a favor when I don't have a choice?"

"We are a suspicious bunch. It comes with the territory. This," he hefted the pill, "is a little insurance policy." The Hokage was unfazed by Ranma's glare. "Once we are satisfied about your loyalty, this will no longer be necessary."

"Trust is earned, old man. Not forced."

Sarutobi nodded. "I know. However, this is one way in which you can begin to earn _my_ trust."

"I never break my word."

The Hokage shrugged. "That may be true. But we are shinobi. Your word means nothing to us. We don't trust until you've proven it, and we'll remain suspicious afterwards. It's unfortunate, but this type of thinking keeps us alive." He held the pill over Ranma's lips. "Swallow."

Ranma glared at him, his anger manifesting as a slight red sheen around his body. The bindings that held him to the bed creaked he flexed his muscles slightly. The ANBU snapped to attention, and Anko pulled out a knife and moved to the edge of the bed on the opposite side of the Hokage so she could place it against his jugular.

"You can be angry at me if you like. However, at this point I'm the only person keeping you alive." Sarutobi placed the pill on his lips. "This is your choice. Not everyone is as nice as I am."

Eventually, Ranma's aura died down and he relaxed into his bindings. "I'll remember this."

The Hokage nodded. "I'm sure you will. Just remember that my responsibility is to keep every person in this village safe. I won't hesitate for a moment if I think you are a danger to Konoha."

Ranma didn't say anything else. He simply opened his mouth and accepted the pill, swallowing it as he stared the old man down.

The Hokage stood up straight, a small pleasant smile on his face as he did so. "Will you swear to serve the Hokage of Konoha faithfully and to the best of your ability?"

"Fine."

"I need something a bit more formal that that." He turned to the ANBU in the room, and Anko. "If you'll serve as witnesses, please?"

Ranma took a deep breath. "I, Ranma Saotome, swear upon my honor to serve the Hokage and Konoha faithfully and to the best of my ability." He closed his eyes and exhaled. Opening his eyes, he looked up at the old man. "That good enough?"

He nodded.

"Good. Can I get out of these things now?"

Again, the Hokage nodded. He motioned to the ANBU to release Ranma, but to his surprise the martial artist twisted and slid his right hand out of the restraints and started undoing his own buckles. It didn't take long before he was free and sitting up in the middle of the bed. He cracked his neck and stretched a bit. "Oh man, that feels good."

The Hokage chuckled. "How long have you been free?"

Ranma thought back. "Um… bout two days now?"

"And why didn't you escape?"

Ranma shrugged. "Well, food's not too bad here, and I didn't want to have to fight for my life just yet." Ranma leapt off the bed, walking a bit unsteadily as muscles long confined to a bed protested at the unexpected movements.

"You seem to be taking this rather well."

Ranma paused, his back to the Hokage. "You just don't know me yet. I'm pissed."

Sarutobi nodded. "Good. Then channel that anger into demonstrating that you are trustworthy. I don't like these methods either, but I will not hesitate to use them if I have any questions about your integrity. Understood?"

Ranma didn't turn around, but he did nod stiffly. "Got it. So, who's my teacher gonna be?"

The Hokage stepped aside and pointed at Anko.

Ranma balked. "You're kiddin', right?"

The Hokage shook his head.

Ranma muttered. "Man, why couldn't have been that dude in the green spandex? At least he could fight."

Normally, Ranma would have been able to dodge the haymaker that caught him in the eye, but his confinement had left him at a bit less than peak performance.

Anko glared down at him as Ranma winched and held his cheek. "So, if she's my teacher and my chaperone, where the hell am I staying?"

The Hokage just smiled.

Ranma groaned and fell back to the floor. "Man, I always get stuck with the violent ones!"

=-=-=-

The walk across town had been a pretty silent one. The Hospital had been nice enough to give him some clothes to wear out. He followed Anko through the town, taking time to memorize the way as he ignored the woman next to him. Anko was less than pleased about the arrangements as well, and Ranma was perfectly happy to let her brood as he thought about his options.

Her apartment was pretty sparsely furnished, but nice. It had a decent kitchen, if unused kitchen, bare living room, couple of bedrooms, and western style bathroom. "Here." Anko dropped the futon and some bedclothes in her spare bedroom. "This is your place until you can get out of that stupid chaperone requirement. So you better learn fucking quick because I don't want you ruining my sex life."

"Don't you normally turn tricks at your customer's place?" Ranma just barely managed to dodge the knife thrust that came his way. Even still, she'd managed to cut a thin hole in his shirt. She gave him a nasty grin. "Sleep tight, dick."

"Yeah, can't hope the same for you, though. You might wanna do a few Keigels first, just in case."

Anko looked at him weird. "I don't get the reference, but I'm sure it isn't nice. Don't worry. I'll get you for it tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ranma started messing with the futon, spreading it out on the floor of the empty bedroom. "So, what time tomorrow we gonna start training?"

"That depends on if you live through the night."

Ranma's smirk matched hers. "Do you worst, then. But don't go crying to your precious Hokage when you get all hurt."

Anko closed the door as she left. Still bursting with energy after being "confined" for so long, Ranma ran through a silent, slow kata to both stretch her muscles and burn off some nervous energy. She had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

Questions, comments, reviews, welcome. Flames used for BBQ. Enjoy.

Edited slightly because some people pointed out a few very salient points. I don't know why, but this one seems to be very controversial. People either love it or flame the bejesus out of me. I've never gotten so many negative PM's, which means I must be doing something right.

12/15/2010 - Edited again because I realized I neatly painted myself into a corner. Every-time I tried to write the next chapter, I was stuck because of how I ended this one. Hopefully some of these changes will help with the subsequent chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

I've reworked this chapter extensively, as there were some really valid criticisms and I wasn't happy with the end result. I've also completed most of the work on the next chapter and should be out shortly.

* * *

Chapter 3

Anko chucked her trench coat over the back of a chair in her room and shimmied out of her mesh bodysuit. She rolled it into a ball and tossed it into the corner of her room and spent the next couple of minutes rummaging around in her dresser looking for some comfortable sleepwear, which consisted of a worn camisole and a pair of old cotton underwear. Once she'd changed, she pulled the Hokage's scroll out of her coat pocket and jumped into bed, settling in to do some light reading on the psychological and medical reports Ibiki had drafted on her new genin.

She pulled the scroll open and stared out at it blankly for a moment. Somehow, she'd ended up with a teammate. Sure, it was supervisor-subordinate role, but still. A genin. The thought rankled. That meant being responsible for someone else and she wasn't sure she was ready for that yet. She'd been alone ever since Orochimaru had abandoned her, so she wasn't sure she knew how to teach someone.

At least she didn't have some team of twerps fresh out of the academy. With a sigh, she turned towards the scroll.

Psychological Profile and Medical Evaluation

Subject: Ranma Saotome

Biographical details: Subject claims to be born in Tokyo, Japan, to Nodoka and Genma Saotome (see note). Subject claims that he was trained from age 5 to be a taijutsu specialist; evidence supports the subject's claim, though he specializes in non-lethal combat techniques. See attached report from ANBU on the intercept and apprehension of the subject.

Age: 22 years.

Height: 170cms/159cms. (See note)

Distinguishing features: Dark skin tone, almond shaped eyes. Medium/slight build. Hair and body type changes color with the application of liquids (see note). See medical report for complete listing of distinguishing marks and scars.

Sex: Subject claims to be male by birth, but changes sex with the application of liquids below body temperature. Subject claims that this is the result of a curse acquired at the age of 16 during a training mission in China. Experimentation confirms claim. Application of liquids less than 38 degrees Celsius results in transformation from a black-haired male to a red-headed female. Liquids over 38 degrees Celsius reverse the change. Application of cold liquids while female or hot liquids while male does not affect change. Physiologically, the change is complete, as confirmed by gynecological and urological examinations. Subject experiences menstruation when female.

NOTE: Subject's background and history is unable to be confirmed. The locations mentioned during the interviews do not exist; neither Tokyo nor China was located on any maps in the Konohagakure library. These locations were cross referenced with existing historical records but there was no match. The family name Saotome was not found in any archives or records relating to any of the Elemental countries. Blood tests failed to reveal the existence of a bloodline that could be responsible for the change in sex; subject claims that it is a curse. No seal exists to substantiate the subject's claim…

Anko shook her head as she continued to scan the basic facts that Ibiki had acquired over the course of his interrogation. The training Ranma claimed to have undergone was brutal, even by her own standards, but she had to admit they'd been effective. She briefly jumped down to the medical report, taking note of the plethora of scars that had been cataloged by the examining physicians. It was an impressive collection – people who got injured frequently in her line of work often didn't live long enough to accumulate the number of scars detailed in Ranma's medical report. There was evidence of multiple massive blunt and crush traumas, shattered bones, concussions, organ damage, and other neurological damage.

The psyche evaluation was brief. In some ways, it was reassuring to know that her student had killed before, but she'd have to break him of his tendency to use less than lethal force if he wanted to survive. He was in a different world now, and his old attitude would be a liability to her and any other future team he served on in Konoha. Ibiki noted that Ranma self-reported as not having spent much time in school, and corroborated that through a series of oblique intelligence tests. Though Ranma rated high to very high in innate intelligence he demonstrated little formal education. He failed miserably on subject matter questions outside of areas related to martial arts. Ibiki noted that this could be due to the subject's background.

It was clear that Ranma wasn't from around here. It was one thing to know that other dimensions existed. Hell, any ninja that used summons intellectually knew it. But to actually see a person from another realm, in which life was so different, blew the mind.

Regardless of wherever he came from, Ranma was certainly the product of an environment that produced a highly trained martial arts specialist. The problem was that Ranma was a warrior. Konoha didn't need warriors; here those types of people died stupid deaths that brought little to benefit the village. Plus, Anko wouldn't have that on her conscious. She needed to make him a ninja.

Anko spent a few minutes making some notes in the margin about what areas Ranma needed training to be an effective ninja. Anko wasn't a taijutsu specialist. She doubted there'd be much she could teach Ranma in that field. Gai would probably be willing to help, provided he could get away from his own team long enough to train with him. Beyond chakra control, ninjutsu, and genjutsu training, she'd have to readjust Ranma's world view.

She had her work cut out for her. In short, she'd have to break Ranma down in order to build him from the ground up before they'd be able to advance much in his training. Given what had already happened to him, she wasn't sure she'd have much success using the methods traditional used for genin; physical exhaustion and psychological strain alone wouldn't break him, given what he'd already experience.

Anko rarely felt anything beyond a combination of hatred and sadness. But tonight, perhaps for the first time since she was a teenager, she felt something similar to gratitude towards her old instructor. For all that his outlook on life was sick and twisted, Orochimaru knew how to shape someone into an effective ninja. She wrote some additional thoughts on some training she'd inflict on Ranma before setting the report aside and turning out the lights. As she sank back into bed and drifted off to sleep, she was already thinking of ways to break Ranma of his bad habits, even if it killed him.

* * *

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - SCENE BREAK!)

Ranma's was up before dawn. He wasn't able to linger in bed; the combination of a lifetime of early rising and combined with unwanted thoughts bouncing around inside his skull made it difficult for him to relax. Rather than lounge about in bed and be miserable, he did what he always did when he had problems he wanted to avoid - get up and do something else. In this case, he decided to look for something to eat. He got dressed quietly and opened the door to the room as with as little noise as possible, heading for the kitchen.

The fridge was a wash as it was empty except for one depleted bottle of hot sauce, a couple of individual serving size packets of soy sauce, and some butter that looked like a chia-pet. The freezer wasn't any better; it was frosted over and the few items in there were so freezer burnt they wouldn't be worth salvaging. Rolling his eyes in disgust, he opened a cabinet, hoping to find something. It was empty. With increasing despair, he searched cabinet after cabinet. Beyond a dead roach and a can of expired evaporated condensed milk, the shelves were completely empty and covered in dust.

He reached for the door of the last cabinet in the kitchen but pulled his hand back quickly as he heard a faint whistling. A kunai punched through the cabinet door with a "thunk," missing his hand by a few centimeters.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Anko blinking owlishly at him, hand still extended from where she'd thrown the knife. She was clearly still asleep and scratching her ribs with her free hand, making the spaghetti strap top she was wearing pull tight in interesting ways. Ranma experienced an unexpectedly intense burst of nostalgia, remembering the times back at the Tendo Dojo when Nabiki had stumbled into the kitchen looking for coffee. Unfortunately, that also brought up memories of Akane.

"Oh. It's you." Apparently, it had finally registered who was standing in the kitchen.

"Morning." Ranma pulled the kunai out of the door and placed it on the counter to derail his thoughts before they could start spiraling downwards. He didn't want to think about Akane right now, even though a part of him was wondering how she was doing. He gave Anko a once over, since she was certainly a nice distraction.

"Ya got any tea?" Ranma asked quickly.

Anko blinked a few more times. "What?"

"Tea? You know, hot beverage made from dry leaves, comes in green or black varieties?"

"I haven't got any." Anko shook her head. "I don't cook."

Ranma frowned. "I hardly call tea cooking. Since you were complaining yesterday that I'd mess up your sex life, I thought you'd be used guests." He gave her a brief glance. "Don't you keep coffee or something around for the morning after?"

Anko grunted. "I kick them out when we finish. Besides, I've been on missions and haven't had anyone over in a while. I wasn't expecting you."

"Great." Ranma sighed, and turned back to the last cabinet and opened it. It, too, was empty, but there was a partial opened bag of bamboo skewers sitting on the bottom shelf. He closed it with a frustrated sight.

"Got any money, then? I want some breakfast."

Before she could reply, a small bird landed on a window sill in the living room and tapped the window several times before fluttering off.

"Breakfast will have to wait." She jerked her thumb over to the window. "Hokage's calling."

* * *

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - SCENE BREAK!)

"Thank you, Anko. You may leave us. Please tell my secretary that we are not to be disturbed."

Anko hesitated, her hand on the doorknob to the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi waved her away with one hand, taking his hat off with the other. "Don't worry. I'm sure Ranma won't try anything while we're alone. Right, Ranma?"

Ranma just grunted.

"Oh, and please inform the ANBU that this is a private meeting. No eavesdroppers, please."

"Hokage-sama." Anko glanced quickly back and forth between her charge and her leader.

"Dismissed." Anko nodded curtly, and with some trepidation, closed the door behind her, leaving the two alone in the Hokage's office. For a moment, Sarutobi seemed to be listening to something that Ranma couldn't hear. With a nod, the Hokage reached into his desk and pulled out a small vial. "Here."

Ranma caught the vial the Hokage flipped at him. "What is it?"

"The antidote to the pill I gave you yesterday." The Hokage ruffled around in his desk, pulling out a pouch of tobacco and a pipe. He watched Ranma turn the vial in his hands out of the corner of his eye as he filled the pipe.

Ranma looked up, wary. "Why give this to me now? Particularly after you gave me that big speech about trust and doing whatever necessary to protect your people yesterday?"

Sarutobi snapped his fingers and generated a tiny flame on his fingertip, lighting his pipe. Ranma watched the whole process closely, trying to discern how he'd done it.

"There are many things going on in Konoha that you are not expected to be aware of. I meant what I said yesterday, Ranma. I do not trust you yet. However, I also do not like using those methods." He pointed at the vial with the end of his pipe. "I personally believe they are vile. They force compliance, and that never works."

"Then why?" Ranma held up the vial.

Sarutobi sighed. "Even as the leader of this village, I do not have absolute authority. One of the conditions of your release was to administer that pill yesterday, and I wanted witnesses who could report back that it had been done. Now, however, I wish for you to be free of that obligation." He pointed at the vial in Ranma's hands. "Drink that. Quickly. We only have a few moments of privacy before someone comes."

"Why should I trust you?" Ranma asked.

The Hokage shrugged. "You don't have to. Nor should you. But as you said yesterday, trust is earned. What else have you got to lose? You said that you didn't break your word. I believe in giving you enough leeway to prove it." He paused and cocked his head, again as if he were listening to something beyond the range of hearing. "Hurry. Someone will arrive shortly."

Ranma hesitated for only a second before pulling the stopper on the vial and drinking the contents. It had little taste going down at first, but left a bitter aftertaste in the back of his throat that lingered long after the taste had disappeared.

The Hokage nodded. He leaned forward, and whispered intently. His voice didn't carry far, but had a hint of urgency that Ranma didn't miss. "This is the last opportunity we will have like this in a while. Konoha is a peaceful place, but there are dark undercurrents here. You are untainted yet, and that's a commodity more valuable than you realize. Those that forced that pill upon you will be less than pleased if they learn you have taken the antidote. Destroy the vial. Don't mention this to anyone. Keep your eyes and ears open. I hope that during your stay here I will earn your trust. I have need of someone of your skills."

Abruptly, the Hokage leaned back in his chair and relaxed. "As I was saying, your duties as a genin will include basic jobs that will build your skill as a shinobi. You will wear or have visible your forehead protector at all times…"

Ranma looked at the old man cross-eyed as he tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about and the sudden change in topic. Sarutobi gave him a ghost of a smile and glanced briefly into the corner of one of his office. That was the only indicator he gave during the rest of his speech explaining the regulations governing the ninja of Konoha and their duties. Ranma realized with a start that he could feel four very faint ki signatures outside the corners of the room. His respect for the Hokage went up a notch, considering that he had hardly felt them at all.

Ranma didn't really care about healthcare benefits or holidays, but learning about the different ninja ranks was interesting. While it was nice to learn what he had to do to earn money, eventually Ranma got bored listening to rules and regulations and ninja entitlements. He allowed his attention wander. The old man didn't seem to mind, considering he was still rattling on about weapons allowances and bank draft privileges. By the time he got into pay rates for successfully completed missions, Ranma had completely tuned out.

Ryouga had gotten him really lost. This place was strange – full people who didn't hesitate for a minute to inflict pain to accomplish what they wanted. He was more unsettled than he cared to admit, because he couldn't make any sense of it. Why would it be necessary to make him swallow poison? And why had the Hokage been so willing to immediately administer an antidote? It was like being surrounded by a bunch of Chinese Amazons, both with the skills to follow up on their threats of violence and agendas completely opaque to him.

The Hokage cleared his throat, snapping Ranma's attention back to the present. He dealt with some administrative functions that seemed right out of some government office back in Tokyo – like signing multiple copies of the same set of papers, getting his fingerprints taken, and other bureaucratic hassles.

Finally, the old man gave him an ID card and a listing of apartments available for rent, for which Ranma accepted gratefully. When he was finally handed an etched, dull metal plate attached to a cloth band, he was more than happy to leave the office. The Hokage told him to keep the symbol on the plate on his person and in a visible place. Ranma ended up shoving it in his pocket instead. The papers and ID disappeared into a subspace pocket as he exited the office. Anko, who had been waiting patiently on a couch next to the door, hopped up the moment the door opened and he stepped out.

She motioned for him to follow, as she leading him out of the Hokage's Tower. Earlier, he'd been too distracted by the strange hair colors and people to really pay attention to where he was going, so this time he tried to pay more attention to the actual route. Unfortunately, doing so meant that a secretary watering a plant near by splashed him with water as he walked by and triggered his curse. He barely registered that he was now a she, but when Anko eventually glanced over her shoulder the trench-coat wearing ninja did a double take and nearly plowed right into someone walking past her.

"When did that happen?" Anko asked.

Ranma blinked. "Oh. A couple of minutes ago, back in the tower."

Anko shook her head and looked down at the now slightly shorter redhead. "That is pretty fucked up…"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Anko said. "Come on, you've got to admit it's pretty weird. I've never seen anyone else who could do that." She pointed at Ranma's chest. "Those things real?"

"Yeah."

"Do they throw your balance off?"

Ranma shrugged. "They're an annoyance, but I'm used to them. And yes, before you ask, I've got the matching parts down there to go with it. You want to see that too?"

Anko grinned. "Maybe later. Right now, I'm hungry and need some caffeine. Follow me."

They ended up in a dango shop. Ranma snorted as she watched Anko gulp down a cup of coffee and a grabbed a plateful of dango skewers. She was happy with a handful of rice balls and some green tea, which she munched on to take the edge off her own hunger. Anko took her dango with her and munched on them contentedly as they walked towards the edge of town. When she finished a skewer, Anko casually flicked it to the side, impaling light posts, posters, and garbage cans along her route.

"So, I'm supposed to be training you." She bit the last dango of the skewer, chewing with relish. "You obviously know some taijutsu. What other skills do you have?"

Ranma shrugged, more interested in taking in the sights around her than actually engaging in conversation.

Anko snorted. "Fine. Whatever." She flicked the last bamboo skewer away, impaling it into a concrete wall.

"Keep up if you can." Anko took to the roofs. Ranma followed right behind her.

* * *

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - SCENE BREAK!)

Anko had to admit that if ninja battles were determined solely on the strength of one's taijutsu skills, Ranma would have been one of the best around. The hellish training regime Ranma had been subjected to as a child had obviously worked. Anko had already had her ass handed to her several times over while engaged in what Ranma classified as "light sparring."

Anko was in great shape; she had to be, because she was a ninja. But ninja battles rarely had straight out taijustu exchanges that lasted for over thirty minutes and scaled up in intensity after every couple of exchanges. She was already sweating much more than she liked and was sucking wind from a blow to the diaphragm. Ranma had been able to slip in blows past her defenses seemingly at will, and Anko knew that she'd be feeling those shots for a while yet. Ranma on the other hand…

"Che." Said red-head hopped lightly, switching her forward foot so that her profile changed. She wasn't even breathing hard. "Is that all you got? Better bring out those clones again, so at least I can get a decent workout."

Anko snarled and tried a new combination to get past Ranma's defenses, but she ended up eating a dirt sandwich as Ranma jumped over her cross and planted a knee in the back of her head.

Anko shook the cobwebs out of her head as she stood up. It was pretty funny that this little red-head could destroy her defenses and put her down in a matter of moments. Having read the file Morino had compiled on Ranma after her time in the hospital, Anko secretly wondered what it must have been like to live in a world where people practiced fighting not to kill others, but simply to be the best at it.

It sounded like some child's fairy tale.

While there was no denying that the redhead was skilled, in the ninja world the strength of one's taijustu rarely had anything to do with who lived or died, and it was time to demonstrate that. Anko was here to train her, not get beat to a pulp. She flashed through a series of hand seals and four clones popped into existence.

Ranma grinned. "Yeah! That's more like it!"

Anko sat back as she watched Ranma work her way through the clones. Watching the fight from the outside was illuminating. Ranma was graceful and powerful, but never even once moved to capitalize on potential fatal holes the clones had left in their defenses. It was if Ranma didn't even acknowledge that they existed. Shaking her head, Anko ended the technique, and the clones dissolved into piles of mud.

"Hey! I was having fun!" Ranma protested.

Anko shook her head. Fun? Having fun wasn't the object here. Ninja were conditioned from a young age that taking life was part and parcel of the trade. It was necessary, because when someone killed for a living, it was all too easy to develop a complete disregard for the value of life. Or worse, some people developed a pathological desire to kill.

Losing your humanity was one of the many pitfalls of becoming ninja. It either broke you, or you developed some sort of method to cope with the stress. But you were never the same person after a certain point. There wasn't a jonin alive that didn't have some sort of dysfunction, and Anko included herself in that category.

Those that became legendary ninja were those who managed to be the best and retain their humanity. It was a lifelong conditioning process that got you to think about the necessity of your job and move past the mental anguish associated with ending a life. But how do you overcome a lifetime of mental and physical conditioning that lethal force was always the last resort?

Had the Hokage realized what he had saddled her with? Knowing the third, he most likely did. Ranma was too good for her to intimidate with sheer violence. Maybe it was time for an object lesson.

Anko shrugged. "Tough. I can see that I can't teach you anything when it comes to taijutsu, but I sure as hell will break your bad habits if I can help it."

"I don't have any bad habits."

"Maybe not where you come from, but here they'll get you and your teammates killed." Anko made a mud clone and had it stand in front of a tree. "What's the fastest way to take out that clone?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged.

Without looking, Anko whipped out a kunai and impaled the clone in the forehead. The clone's head was whipped back from the impact and the tip of the kunai protruding from the back of its head got stuck in the wood. Pinned to the tree, the clone's body sagged as its eyes rolled back into its head. It quickly lost cohesion after that and melted into a pile of mud. She watched Ranma's reaction the whole time; the girl blanched when the clone was struck.

"That's how you take out a clone. So why the hell would you go around beating on them with your fists? It's stupid and it will get you killed." Anko made another clone and tossed a second kunai to Ranma. The red-head looked at the clone and then glanced down at the throwing knife in her hand. She tossed it back to Anko.

"I ain't interested in practicing how to kill."

Anko tossed the kunai back. Ranma looked at it with disdain.

"That's okay." Anko said. She made a group of clones. Each of the clones pulled out a kunai. "You might not have an interest in it. But if you have an interest in staying alive, you better take these out quick. I'm going to keep making more until either you drop from your wounds or I drop from exhaustion. And you will drop from your wounds, because they," she pointed at her clones, "will be using those knives to hurt you."

Ranma shifted nervously. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

Anko shrugged. "My job is to teach you how to be a ninja. Right now, you're just a brawler. You're good, but you'll just end up getting me and everyone else around you killed. I refuse to put my life on the line for your ego. Until you learn that lesson, you've got no place here."

The four clones moved to surround Ranma, each holding their kunai in a reverse grip to facilitate both slashing and stabbing. Ranma took up a ready stance. The clones moved as one, each aiming for a different body part.

Ranma flowed around their strikes, redirecting blows and dodging as needed. Anko watched from the sidelines as Ranma neatly dispatched one of the clones with a haymaker. Clones were never as good as the real thing, unless they were shadow clones and the user had an incredibly affinity for them. For every clone Ranma worked through with her taijutsu, she added two more. The clones pulled out weapons and jumped in the fray.

Anko had to admit that it was beautiful to watch Ranma work. She had achieved a grace through hard earned skill that very few ninja ever lived long enough or worked hard enough to achieve. Most ninja were content to stick with what worked and take as many shortcuts as possible if it kept them alive. Tiajutsu specialists rarely succeeded as most fights began and finished in the span of a few heartbeats. Protracted battles were rarely helped ninja survive. In fact, the opposite was true; a good ninja tried to use lethal yet efficient techniques that took opponents out from a distance before they were even aware they had an opponent.

It was easier to survive if you never presented a target to your opponent.

Ranma's background had produced a fighter that was antithesis of the ninja paradigm. Even though Ranma was soon hopelessly outnumbered, she weaved her way through the clones, disabling some with rib precision blows that would knock a person out or render them incapable of fighting. Most ninja would have used the space to run away and try and take out the opponents from a distance, but Ranma simply wove through the numbers, maneuvering herself through the throng in such a way as to only present two or three openings at once. When clones moved to capitalize on the openings, they were dispersed with an attack that left her optimally positioned for the next opponent.

Anko didn't have an unlimited supply of chakra, and if she didn't overwhelm Ranma she'd drop before the redhead would. Ranma had already taken out a score of clones, but not a single one of them fell to the kunai she had given her. Anko decided to cheat, and drawing deeply on her chakra reserves, added clone after clone. The drain on her chakra was starting to get difficult, as she usually didn't field this many mud clones. However, this was an object lesson, and she wasn't about to lose. She made a few more to stand around the sidelines, throwing shuriken and kunai at Ranma's back when open.

It was only a matter of time before one of the clones capitalized on an opening and Ranma was just a shade too slow to avoid injury. The clone managed to slice Ranma's thigh before an uppercut forced it to dissolve in a pile of slurry. The wound caused her to stumble, but it was enough of an opening for a second clone to lunge at her eye with a kunai. Ranma frantically pulled her left arm up to block and ended up taking the kunai in the forearm. It slid between the bones of her arm, but before it could reach her eye Ranma grunted and twisted her arm, capturing the blade between the bones of her arm.

A third clone lunged at her back, intent on stabbing her in the shoulder. Ranma managed to dodge the worst of the cut, but still got nicked. She used the movement to dive forward into a roll, pulling the kunai out of the hand of the first clone, even though the knife was protruding from the opposite side of her arm. She whipped around and nearly decapitated the clone that had stabbed her shoulder with a ridge hand strike with her uninjured arm.

But she was blooded. It rapidly went downhill from there. Anko was impressed, though. Ranma had managed to hold out for about fifteen minutes before her wounds caused it to end. But it did end, eventually, with Ranma pinned down by four clones with a fifth holding a kunai just below her eyelid, effectively pinning her head to the ground and preventing any movement.

Anko sauntered over and squatted down. Ranma couldn't really move her head without risking an eye, so she could just make out the woman's outline, far enough away to be out of reach but close enough to strike quickly if needed.

"You're good, Ranma. Really good. But you're not invincible. I've read the stuff you told Ibiki. This place isn't like your home. The only thing that's going to keep you alive is making sure you end fights fast. Got it?"

Ranma just grunted.

"Physical training's over for today." The clones let Ranma up. Anko reached down and grabbed the forearm with the kunai sticking out of it, hauling Ranma to her feet as the redhead hissed in pain. "Come on. I'll show you the way to the hospital."

* * *

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - SCENE BREAK!)

The medic sighed in disgust as he cataloged the various injuries. "We'll have to deal with the kunai, first. Hold your arm out over this." The medic pulled the kunai out without ceremony and dropped it in the irrigation tray, letting the blood pool in the freshly excavated wound. The fact that he was treating stab wound so blithely was unsettling, but Ranma did her best not to show it.

It hurt like hell when the wound was sterilized, but rather than getting stitches, like she expected, the medic simply held his glowing green hands over the exit and entry points of the wound. He could detect minute amounts of ki coating the medic's hand, but beyond that he had no idea how one would create such a stable field with so little energy. Ranma watching in fascination as the skin began to knit back together. The wound didn't close completely, but the majority of the damage was repaired pretty quickly.

"How'd you do that?" Ranma asked.

The medic blinked and looked over at Anko, who was reading a weapons magazine in the corner of the room. Anko caught the medic's look and snorted.

Anko said. "Don't worry about her. She got hit too many times on the head during training."

The doctor nodded and got back to work. Ranma shot Anko a dirty look over the head of the doctor, but she just shook her head and motioned for him to wait. Eventually the wound was bandaged and he moved on to her thigh and shoulder, mutter about crazy training methods the whole time. The doctor had to peel the bandages that Ranma used to stop the bleeding off the other wounds before they could be attended too. It was bloody and painful, but before too long the doctor wrapped up with advice to rest and eat well the next couple of days to speed up the healing process. With that, the doctor nodded to them both and made some notes on Ranma's chart before leaving the redhead and Anko alone in the room.

Ranma cautiously flexed her bandaged forearm. It hurt, but not nearly as much as it should have Anko got up and walked to the bed. "That's amazing."

"You shouldn't move it too much for a day or two. It could reopen." Anko said.

Ranma shook her head. "Still. That's gonna speed things up a whole lot. Injuries are always a big trainin' block."

"Don't get too used to it. The doctors don't often patch up training injuries because they've got enough real injuries to worry about. This one's your only freebee for the month. After this, you've got to heal the hard way." Anko straddled the stool the doctor had been using and sat forward, hands braced on the edge of the stool between her thighs.

"Are you gonna explain how he did that?" Ranma held up his bandaged arm.

Anko nodded. "What do you know about chakra?"

"Chakras?" Ranma thought furiously, pulling up long buried knowledge. "Aren't they focal points for energy in the body? I remember my old man teaching me about it once. There's seven of 'em in the body and that meditating on 'em is supposed to help you control your glands and emotions and stuff." She shrugged. "For me, pressure points work better in a fight and straight meditation is more useful than concentrating on your groin, but some old yogis back home swear by them."

Anko frowned. For all that she and Ranma spoke the same language, it was apparent that she was talking to an alien. Ranma's description reminder her of tenketsu points, but there were a lot more of them than just seven in the body. The Hyuuga's vaunted Gentle Fist style was built on finding and incapacitating these points with precise amounts of chakra to disrupt the flow through the body.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the life force that allows us to do our techniques." Said Anko.

"Life force?" Ranma said. "You mean ki, right?"

Anko nodded. "Well, ki is certainly one part of it."

This got Ranma's attention. "What do you mean, 'one part of it'?"

"Well," Anko said, "Chakra is the energy produced when physical energy of chi and spiritual energy of ki mix together." She held up her palm, and pushed some pure chakra out. Given her affinity with fire, it took on the shape of a flame. It flickered softly in her hand, casting a gentle glow on the bed sheets.

Ranma's eyes widened. "Physical... and spiritual energies?"

Anko nodded.

The next question caught her off guard. "Can you split them?"

Anko let the gently dancing chakra on her hand dissolve. "What do you mean, 'split them'?"

"You know, into the different parts. Like chi on one hand, and ki on the other?"

Anko shook her head. "Splitting them is pretty much a bad idea. I don't even think it can be done. Or at least, I don't know anyone who's ever been able to do it. The energies combine in your body before you even have a chance to tell which one's which. They flow into your naval, and then from there you channel it into the technique you want to use. They've got to be precisely balanced, or techniques don't work. Too much ki or chi, and the technique fizzles or blows up on you."

Ranma held out one palm, and to Anko's surprise a blue orb the size of a fist formed instantly, swirling slowly as it illuminated the room. The light was intense enough that even in the room it was difficult to look at directly. But to Anko it felt... off. Not wrong, but given the relatively small size of the sphere, it made her senses go haywire.

Whatever it was, it wasn't chakra. "What... is that?" Anko asked.

"Ki." Ranma said. "Just pure ki."

Anko blinked. "That shouldn't be possible."

Ranma shrugged. "It's how I learned to do it." The glow winked out. The after image left spots in Anko's retinas. The redhead mumbled to herself, "No wonder I could only feel small amounts of ki in the medic's technique. He was mixing it with something else." Ranma looked up. "Do you think this is something you can teach me?"

"I don't know," Anko replied. "Maybe. Who knows? It will have to wait till tomorrow, but we can try. At the very least, we'll get to blow stuff up." Changing topics, Anko asked, "We can continue to talk about this over dinner, if you want."

"You want me to have dinner with you?"

"Why not?"

Ranma held up his bandaged arm. "You stabbed me. Usually that isn't an invitation to dinner."

"You're my student. Until you start earning some money of your own, dinner's on me."

Anko found herself being pulled out the hospital door faster than she could react, dragged behind the enthusiastic redhead hell bent on reaching the nearest restaurant.

* * *

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - SCENE BREAK!)

Ranma ducked into the bathroom to find some hot water while Anko ordered. Once the waiter placed the food on the table, Anko watched in sick fascination as Ranma devoured his meal in seconds. She was prompted to say something when Ranma shoveled rice into his mouth without bothering to chew.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you eat like a pig?" She said.

Ranma didn't even bother to look up from his rice bowl. "Did anyone ever tell you that you dress like a slut?"

He managed to stop the kunai that was thrown at him with his chopsticks before it reached his eyeball. He frowned at her. "Careful. I almost dropped some rice there." He placed the kunai on the tabletop and reached across to grab one of her shrimp. He popped it into his mouth, shell and all, and chewed with his mouth open.

Loudly.

Anko pushed her plate away in disgust. "That is revolting."

Ranma shrugged. He plucked another shrimp off her plate and popped into his mouth with relish. "I guess dressing that way is your way of makin' up for your wonderful personality, huh?"

This time Anko lunged across the table to stab him, but he managed to fall backwards out of his chair and roll away from her stab.

"Thanks for dinner!" With a jaunty wave, Ranma bolted out of the restaurant. Anko dropped some money on the table to cover the bill then stormed out after him.

The chase around Konoha that night had been entertaining, but eventually even Anko needed some sleep. Once Ranma was convinced that he was no longer being actively pursued by his "sensei," he explored Konoha by night for a bit before heading back to Anko's apartment. When he tried to open his window from the outside, he was saved from being impaled by several kunai only by the fact that he had a habit of opening windows while hanging from the upper story by his toes.

Getting to bed that evening was equally unpleasant, as a black adder was waiting in his bedding when he set it out on the floor. Quick reflexes saved him from the pissed off serpent. Catching it by the head, he tossed it out the window and carefully checked his room for other booby traps. He decided to eschew the futon completely until he had a chance to launder the sheets, just to be safe. Once he was satisfied, he spread out on the floor and fell asleep.

Ranma didn't bother searching the cabinets the next morning. Given that it was still early morning, he decided it would be better to head off to train. He wrote a short note on old take-out receipt and set out for the training ground he'd sparred with Anko the day before.

He'd been practicing kata when she showed up a couple of hours later with some dango and a cup of coffee.

"Hungry?"

Ranma nodded.

"Too bad." She bit off one of her dango savagely. "After last night, I'm not treating you anymore unless you act a little less like a barbarian. Just because we're ninja doesn't mean we can act without manners."

Ranma shrugged. "If that's so, didn't anyone ever tell you it ain't polite to show yer snatch in public?" He ducked the kunai that followed that remark and redirected the follow up with the flat of his foot, stomping the knife to the ground as it passed. Ranma smirked. "That all you got?"

"I don't see how you ever got married." Anko rolled her eyes.

"Wasn't my choice." Ranma went back to his workout.

Anko polished off the last of her dango and threw the stick at Ranma. He batted it away with even noticing it.

"Alright. Show me what that ki stuff of yours can do."

Ranma flashed a grin, and a bright blue ball of ki the same size as the one he'd made in the hospital leapt into existence above his palm. Anko raised an eyebrow as Ranma launched it at a tree in the distance without any hand seals. It covered the distance in a blink of an eye and impacted with an audible "whump."

It wasn't much faster than a thrown kunai, but given the bright glow much easier to track. The difference was upon impact. At the impact zone, the tree exploded in a flash of blue, the trunk shattered by the impact with Ranma's ki ball. Anko watched as the tree toppled to the ground, a portion of the trunk completely obliterated. She waited till the tree had settled, then walked over to inspect where the blast had hit, sipping on her coffee. Ranma followed, hanging back a bit. The tree was shattered, but the sap was still flowing freely. There was no heat, even though parts of the trunk had simply vanished after having been pulverized from the force of the blast.

Anko fingered the initial impact site. It was fairly smooth, as if the wood had been compressed. The center of the tree was a mess, having been splintered by the force of the blast. "Does it do anything else?"

Ranma squatted next to her and idly watched as Anko poked around the shattered trunk. "Not really, no. That's pretty much it. I've got a couple of other long distance attacks, but that's probably the easiest one. The larger I make them, the more destructive they are."

The back of the tree was in worse shape than the front. It confirmed her suspicions that it was a concussive type blast; the force impacted the front of the tree but dissipated out the back, blowing the bark clean off the trunk and leaving a gaping exit wound. "How destructive can you make them?"

Ranma scratched his head. "Depends. The largest one I ever made caused a small mountain to crumble, but it was about the size of a bus."

Anko nodded. "Does it take more time to make a larger one?"

"Yeah, a bit. Not much, though. It wears me out faster, so I tend to stick to smaller ones."

Again, Anko nodded. "So that's what you hit me with when you escaped from the interrogation room, huh?"

Ranma grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Hope it didn't hurt too much."

Anko rolled her eyes. "I'm a ninja, not a doll. I've been hit harder in training. What happens if a larger one hits a person?"

"I guess it depends on how large it is." Ranma shrugged. "I dunno. I know that one the size of a beach ball's usually enough to knock out just about anyone. Larger than that and it hurts a lot."

"Does it break bones?" Anko stood up, finished with her investigation. "Or does it just knock them down?"

"Mostly it just knocks you flat." Ranma said. "If you break something, it's probably 'cause ya landed funny."

Anko grunted and sat down on the log. Ranma took a seat opposite her, on the ground. "Do you have anything else?"

Ranma frowned. "Yeah, a couple of other techniques, but they are forbidden. This is the only ranged attack I've got so far. The other one's an elemental based attack, but it's for use against multiple opponents."

"Can you show me any of them?"

Ranma shook his head. "Not really."

Anko sighed. "Well, that ki blast is a neat attack, but I think it's pretty much worthless."

Ranma jumped to his feet and protested loudly.

Anko just held up her hand for a moment, and eventually Ranma fell silent. "Look, don't get me wrong. I think it is pretty damn cool and I can see where it would be useful, but it is pretty much worthless in a fight."

Ranma narrowed his eyes dangerously and formed a melon sized ball of ki in his hand. "You wanna eat one and see if you still think that?"

"I'm just saying that it's got a lot of flaws." Anko said. "First, it's bright fucking blue and can be seen coming at you from miles away, even in bright sunshine. It moves only in a straight line, so it can be easily dodged. It doesn't move all that fast, so it's utility at long range is questionable. And, more importantly, it doesn't take your opponent out of the fight. Even if you hit them, they'll still remain relatively healthy and battle effective. The last thing you want is someone you thought out of the fight coming at your back when you're not ready. You only get to make that mistake here once, because if you do you're dead. Got it?"

The ball of ki sputtered and died.

"We're not in your cozy little world anymore, Ranma. Even if you can't kill people, you've got to make sure they are out of the fight. That little trick of yours won't do it." Anko stood up and moved away from the downed tree. She motioned for Ranma to back up. With a couple of hand seals, a ball of fire streaked towards the tree faster than Ranma's blast. The tree exploded, showering the pair with burning embers and sawdust.

Ranma brushed some ashes off his shirt and grimaced. "Like that's supposed to be better? It's got all the same problems you say my ki blast's had. It goes straight, then boom. At least mine doesn't catch things on fire."

"Catching things on fire is the point, dumbass." Anko pointed at the remains of the tree. "How big does your ki blast have to be to do the same level of damage?"

Ranma thought about it. "Dunno. I'm thinking it have to be a bit bigger than a beach ball, though."

"And how long would that take to make?" Anko asked.

"Something that big?" Ranma shrugged. "No time at all, really." He demonstrated, manifesting volleyball sized ki blast in his palm almost instantly. It winked out just as quickly, and he let his palm fall to his side.

Anko nodded. "Then how many could you do before you got tired?"

Ranma raised a finger into the air and opened his mouth to respond, but then paused. He cocked his head. "Ya know, I've never really tried it. But I imagine I'd get about fifty or sixty of them before I got worn out."

"Fifty or sixty?" Anko nodded in the direction of the tree. "That ball of fire's a relatively low level technique, and it barely takes any chakra. If I had to, I'd be able to do it well over a hundred times before I started to feel winded, and I'd still have plenty of energy left to fight. I'd get bored to death doing it, of course, but hey." She shrugged. "It costs a fraction of the energy your ki blast, moves faster, and on the whole does the intended job of taking out an enemy better. It's just more efficient. As a fighter, even you should appreciate that."

Ranma nodded. "Sure, it might be 'efficient.'" He spat. He held up her right hand, and a fist-sized ball of ki leapt into being, hovering over her palm. "You know what makes this better? I don't need any stupid hand seals to make one. It's ready when I need it, and only does what I want it to. I can make it do the amount of destruction I want. Can you say that about your fireballs?"

Anko frowned. The message she was trying to convey clearly hadn't been received. "Your blast might take down an enemy, but it wouldn't take out an enemy. The point is, until your attack can take out an enemy, it's worse than useless. It's a liability."

"A liability, huh?" Ranma smiled. "I'll show you a liability." He winked at Anko and then his fists blurred. Ranma's torso stayed still, but his hands were moving too fast for even Anko's eyes to track. It looked like solid lines of blue extended from the edge of his reach into the forest. Where the lines touched, the soft "thump" of trees and dirt exploding could be heard, moving away from Ranma's position as fast as a man could run. Trees shook and crashed to the ground while leaves fell like rain, but where the blue lines touched chaos was left in its wake. Anko glanced down at her watch as the display continued. Finally, after about five seconds, Ranma's fists slowed and stopped.

He was breathing heavily and had sweat running down his brow, but was still standing tall. Some trees had gaping holes punched through their trunks, where as other had simply been obliterated. The ground was pockmarked and torn apart, and at fifty meters trees that had not been completely destroyed began to topple to the ground as they no longer had the structural integrity to stand as portions of their trunks had been sheered away.

It took a while for the sound of crashing trees to die away. Ranma surveyed the damage. "How is that a liability? How many of those fireballs can you throw in a minute?" He asked.

"At my best? Forty or fifty." Anko shrugged.

Ranma pointed at the destruction in front of him. "I can do about 300 punches a second, if I'm really pushing it. If I can punch, I can throw a ki blast. You're gonna have to do the math since I failed algebra. But I'm pretty sure I just threw a hella lot of liabilities there." He smirked.

It was an impressive display of strength, but Anko felt like Ranma had missed the point entirely. "But would it kill them?"

Ranma frowned. "Does it matter? Anyone caught in that would be messed up."

"I don't care if they would be messed up. My question is would it take them out of the fight permanently? A ninja that can move, no matter how injured, is still deadly." She was well rested from yesterday's sparring match, and with a couple of seals, a mud clone sprang into existence. Anko handed the clone her backpack, and then it ran off up the path of destruction Ranma's technique had left. The clone was far enough away that all her features were indistinct, but her actions were still clear.

Anko pointed at her. The clone was busy pulling a bunch of stuff out of the back pack, and shoving it into her the pockets of the trench coat it was wearing. "Imagine that's an enemy. It just got caught in your technique. She's broken, battered, and heavily injured. But she can still move her hands."

Anko made a hand sign and sank into the ground. As she did, her clone made a single hand sign, and then the pockets of her trench coat began to smoke. A blinding flash erupted from where the clone had once stood, and the surrounding area was flattened by an explosion and an intense wave of heat. Even as Ranma was blown off his feet and sent flying through the air, the heat singed his eyebrows. He crashed through the first tree he hit in his flight and bounced along the ground until hitting a second tree. Enough momentum had been bled off from where he bounced off the ground that he only left a slight impression on in the tree.

Ranma groaned and slid in a boneless heap to the ground. His ears were ringing and his vision was a touch blurry, but he could make out Anko was squatting in front of her with a smile on her face. "That's why you don't leave an enemy operational."

Anko pulled out several explosive tags from her pocket. "My job is to turn you into an effective ninja. If you want to be a ninja and part of this village, you're going to have to do two things. First, follow orders. Second, kill when commanded. Got it?"

Ranma gingerly probed the back of his head as he glared at Anko. "Killing is easy. Only the weak kill when there are other options."

"You want to keep your enemies alive? Fine. But you'd better be willing to completely immobilize their hands and feet, strip them naked, and search every single cavity to make sure they won't become a threat to your teammates. You won't always have the time to do that on a mission. Sometimes, it's just easier and better to kill them."

Anko paused. "Today I've shown you the lowest-ranked fire jutsu I know. It's a D-ranked. There are thousands of techniques for each element. Most of them are secret, known only to the wielder. S-ranked techniques are so destructive that most are banned, because their strong enough to wipe cities off the map." She waved the explosive tags in her hands in front of her student. "You see these? We call these explosive tags. Each one of these little sheets of paper is stronger than that little jutsu I showed you. That clone just blew itself up with about fifteen of these timed to explode together." She licked the back of them and one by one, stuck them to Ranma's exposed skin, placing the last one on his forehead, obscuring her vision.

"All I have to do to blow them up is just feed some chakra into them with some hand signs." Anko brought her hands in front of her chest, poised to do exactly as she said. "How are you going to stop me?"

Ranma reacted, lashing out with a jab to her face too quick for Anko to block. Anko rolled backwards from the blow, giving him the space he needed. Bracing one hand on the tree behind him for support, Ranma stood up even as his knees were shaking. He ripped the tags off his body and crumpled them together, tossing the ball of paper half a dozen meters off to the side.

"Dat hurb." Anko stood up slowly, one hand holding her nose from which blood was flowing freely.

"It stopped you from using the tags, didn't it?"

Anko shook her head. "Nobe." She made a quick sign and the paper off to Ranma's side ignited.

He had some idea what was going to happen this time, and dove to the side. Even still, the blast was strong enough to throw Ranma through two trees before he eventually came to a stop face down in the dirt. Anko stalked over to where Ranma was slowly coming to his hands and knees, and without ceremony drew a kunai. She yanked Ranma's head back by the hair, and deliberately traced the tip of the kunai across his throat with just enough pressure to draw blood but not cut anything else.

"You're dead." With that, Anko released his hair and placed her foot on his ass, pushing him to the ground.

It took Ranma a few minutes before he was able to roll over. His pupils were dilated unevenly, and his hand was shaking as he gingerly touching his throat.

Anko kicked his hands away from his throat and pinned his arms to the ground with her knees as she straddled his chest. Using the kunai, she cut his shirt open from her crotch to his neck, peeled the shirt back to expose his chest. She placed the point of the kunai on the skin above his heart. She gently began to apply pressure, careful not to break the skin. Yet. "For all your fighting skills, you can't stop me right now. Imagine that. The amazing fighter, brought low with a couple of well placed explosives."

She pushed down, breaking the skin. Blood welled up around the point of the kunai as it slid a fraction of an inch towards his heart. It wasn't deep enough to cause harm, but Ranma became absolutely still. No matter how skilled he was, from his current position there was absolutely nothing he could do that would prevent her from pushing the knife home before he managed to free himself.

Anko got a wicked smile on her face as she felt him go still. "I see you understand the situation."

Ranma nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"You need to understand that we, the ninja of Konoha, mean business. I'm a ninja. So are you." Anko pointed at her Konoha forehead protector with her other hand. "When you got this badge, you agreed to be a ninja for Konoha. In this world, a ninja's business is killing. If you want to be useful and stay alive, you'd better start taking your job, and me, seriously. Got it?"

He didn't nod, because he didn't want to move with the knife still poised over his heart. "Yeah." He paused. "You gonna let me up, or what?"

"I haven't decided yet. This is kind of fun." Without moving the kunai, she shifted backwards till she was straddling his stomach. She yanked the knife out and licked the blood that welled from the wound off his chest. She practically purred.

Faster than she could react, she found herself on her ass with Ranma shuddering as he stood several feet away, his hand over the cut.

"You're crazy."

Anko stood up and dusted off her knees and rear. "And your blood is delicious."

Before he could respond, Ranma threw up.

"Concussion?" She asked.

He nodded.

Anko sighed. "Well, I guess I've got to drag your ass back to the hospital, then."

* * *

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - SCENE BREAK!)

Ranma ended up having more than just a concussion; the shock wave from the blast ended up causing some internal bleeding that kept him out of training for the next couple of days. The doctors were not happy that he'd been admitted twice in as many days, and refused to release him. That time was spent studying about chakra with some texts Anko brought from the library. Ranma would have like to say the time was productively spent, but the reality was different.

It came down to the fact that Ranma had absolutely no idea how to create chakra. What every ninja in every elemental country in the whole known world could do without conscious thought was a monumental undertaking for Ranma. Even starting at the beginning with basic academy lessons for chakra meditation produced no results.

Ranma knew how to meditate; the problem was is that he'd spent most of his life meditating exclusively to reach his ki. When he meditated on the second component of chakra there was just nothing there. They spent days searching before he was released from the hospital (with a sternly worded warning to Anko that he was not to come back anytime soon).

It didn't help that Anko had absolutely no idea about how to teach. She was forced to admit that she had no clue what the hell she was doing; the week after his release from the hospital was one of the longest weeks in her life. The reason for this was that beyond Ranma's taijutsu skills, he also had some other abilities that could qualify as veritable bloodline limits.

First and foremost was his ability to annoy people. In a world where maintaining a cool head often was a key component of victory, this wasn't an ability that should be underestimated. Combined with his incredible fighting ability, made him a truly formidable opponent.

Too bad she had to try and teach him, when what she really wanted to do was to kill the annoying fucker.

Ranma was an S-ranked adversary when it came to pissing her off. Since she'd gained the cursed-seal, Anko had worked very hard to control her emotional extremes as the seal magnified negative emotions, with potentially drastic consequences.

With him, though, all that hard earned control just flew right out the window. She didn't know why it was so, but something about his attitude just made her fly off the handle. She tried several times, in fact, to arrange for "an accident" during one of their spars after his release from the hospital, but then she quickly learned something else about Ranma that made her glad he was on her side.

Anko had fought alongside and against many so-called "geniuses." Of all those she'd seen, most were only one-trick ponies with bloodline limit. In her opinion, there were few true "geniuses;" the only people who came to mind immediately were Itachi of the Uchiha clan and her old sensei, Orochimaru. She was getting ready to add Ranma to that list. He was inhuman. He never made the same mistake twice, and after seeing a technique only once could figure out a counter for it on the fly. He picked up combat styles from his opponents like he was an Uchiha, but rather than just copying the style wholesale incorporated it into his own repertoire, making it much more effective. He didn't just pick up a style; he dissected it, studied it, and took the elements he needed and tossed out the rest.

In her opinion, the only thing that stopped him from becoming one of the strongest ninja in Konoha was his handicap with chakra.

She'd be glad to fight along side him. But unfortunately she had to teach him. Because he had the social intelligence and behavioral patterns of a ten-year old, what little patience she might have had quickly flew out the window. His lack of education made him seem even less intelligent than the village idiot, Naruto.

Currently, they were currently sitting in one of the many training grounds in Konoha. With a large copse of trees near a small pond, it was a perfect place to work on his basic ninja skills. Ranma meditated in an upside down in lotus position, balanced on his head as he thought about his problems with chakra. His eyes were closed as he pondered his problem. Anko was sitting near by, idly twirling a kunai around her finger as he thought.

"So explain how this is supposed to work again?"

"I've already told you how it's supposed to work. You do these hand signs, channel the appropriate amount of chakra, then 'poof' – you've got some bushin standing around."

Ranma copied the hand signs and tried to channel some ki, but nothing happened. "Not helpin'." Ranma sighed. "What's the principle behind it? If I can understand why it happens, maybe I can figure out some way of doin' it myself."

"I'm not a professor. I'm a ninja. You want to know principles, read a book."

Ranma frowned in distaste. "Well what about the water walking thing, then? How about that?"

"I don't know how it works, just that it does. If you channel the appropriate amount of chakra from your feet, you don't fall in. I've told you that a few times. I don't see how telling you again will help." Anko said. She tossed the kunai at him, which he caught without bothering to open his eyes. "You should go practice on the tree, since you seem to be making progress with that at least." With a sigh he did a hand stand and pushed up from the ground, unfolding his legs as he did so.

Holding the kunai in his hand, he walked to the nearest tree and placed his foot against it. Closing his eyes once again, he concentrated on feeling his ki flow through his body. But unlike the texts he'd seen, his ki reacted nothing like the diagram he'd seen of a chakra system; it didn't swirl. His chakra flowed from his body into his navel, where it sat and collected until he needed to draw it out.

It was a new sensation for him; with his ki blasts he just made a manifestation of his ki and projected it. This was much more like what he did to augment his muscles, but acting on an external object. Sending some ki into his feet, he placed one foot on the tree and stuck there. Doing it for a second wasn't hard; he'd been doing similar things before, like when fighting Kuno. The hard part was keeping up a continuous stream of ki and _walking_ up the tree at a slow, measured pace.

He got about four steps before he fell. He flipped over and landed feet first on the ground, scowling at the tree.

Anko watched as he went back to the tree repeatedly. What she had said was true; he was making progress. When she'd introduced this skill to him yesterday, he could take at most two steps before falling. He was already close to getting the hang of it.

Taijutsu training was of limited value since Ranma's expertise eclipsed hers. He always won during their training exercises, and afterwards he'd gloat about it and turn in to an immature, insufferable prick. He'd needle her with little comments about her abilities until she lost her temper and went after him with ninjustu, where she could still dominate him. But that was becoming harder and harder, as every time he saw a technique, he'd work out some sort of counter for it. He'd dodge her initial salvo, then run and hide until her temper subsided.

More problematic was that Ranma was undermining her attempts to break his bad habit of using disabling rather than lethal attacks. The clone drills continued, but she was never again able to trap him in a situation where the overwhelming numbers would allow her to inflict wounds that would force him to start using lethal force. He began retreating as soon as the numbers became too much for him to handle, and disabled clones one at a time through clever diversions.

To her great chagrin, his ki attacks were unusually effective at disabling clones, causing them to lose cohesion and fall apart well before they absorbed enough damage to disintegrate normally. He used this to his advantage, picking clones off from a distance and coating his fists in a thin layer of ki, so that even attacking clones were disabled. After the first couple of days, she began to run out of chakra before he ran out of stamina.

She watched as he managed to make it all the way up the tree, albeit at a run. "Walk, Ranma. Running is cheating."

Ranma gave her the stink eye but complied, walking slowly up the tree. He made it about halfway this time before falling.

She could tell that Ranma was just as frustrated as she was at his inability to learn this basic and essential skill. But he was adaptive and intelligent enough to try and recreate the techniques with his on ki, even if he didn't have much success so far. Until he could learn to manipulate chakra, she was afraid that they'd never get out of Konoha to do real missions. Anko had scheduled an appointment at the hospital to see if there was some problem with Ranma's chakra coils, but the appointment was pushed back a couple of weeks given the backlog of urgent medical cases the hospital was dealing with.

Several hours passed, but in that time Ranma was able to figure out how to effectively make it up and down the tree at a walk. Even though she didn't show it, she was impressed. He still had work to do, but he got the basic principle quickly while working around his handicap.

He dropped out of the tree and walked over to where she was sitting, and plopped down on the ground next to her and before flopping onto his back with a sigh.

"Tired?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Is it supposed to be this hard?"

Anko leaned back on her elbows, staring up at the tree. "If you're six, yes. For an adult like you, it should be a cake walk."

Ranma flipped her the bird.

She laughed. "Ready to try water walking?"

Ranma groaned. "Does it have to be water?"

"Yeap. Now get out there and try it. Remember, it's just like the tree walking. You've got to emit a constant supply of chakra to keep you from falling into the water."

"In case you haven't noticed, I ain't got no chakra."

"Tough. Give a try anyway. Oh, and use the deep water. It's better practice."

Ranma grumbled, but complied. He took off his shoes, and tried to step out on the water. Of course he failed, and he turned to a she as his body plunged into the pond up to her knee.

No matter how many times she'd seen it, Anko still got a kick out of the sex change. She enjoyed teasing her gender-bending student about it because she'd noticed it was a weakness that would need to be addressed at some point in the future. For right now, though, she was content to have a few yucks at her student's expense. Anko pulled a bra out of her pocket and threw it at the now female Ranma. "Here. It might make balancing easier."

Ranma snatched the bra out of the air with a snarl. "Yeah, go on. Laugh it up. Keep it up and I ain't cookin' tonight."

Anko held her hands up in a placating manner. For all the negative aspects of teaching and the related rise in blood pressure associated with the pig-tailed martial artist, there were some positive aspects as well. He was beating her ass back into shape. She had been disabused of the notion that she was in fighting form before having Ranma foisted off on her as a student. Now, after getting her ass handed to her in their spars, she was working harder than ever and in better shape than she had been in a long time.

That didn't mean it did suck balls, though.

The other positive was that Ranma was a surprisingly good cook and knew how to keep house. Since he wasn't making money, it fell on her to provide for him until he was. Since she refused to take him out to restaurants, and refused to give him money to eat, the only recourse was to buy groceries, something she hadn't done in far too long.

So she bought some tea (at his insistence) milk, butter, and eggs and a bit of cheese.

And the fucker whipped up a soufflé from memory. It wasn't dango, but it was damn good. In fact, it was good enough that she'd stopped eating out at restaurants since he'd been released from the hospital, since he was forced since his manners hadn't improved.

Anko had purposefully kept him too busy to have time to apartment search, since she was getting quality food and free housekeeping. Even considering how much Ranma ate, she was really saving money for the first time in her life, without even meaning too. She was determined to enjoy the benefits as long as she could, and beyond the dango shop, the restaurants in Konoha had long since ceased to be appealing.

The other thing was that she'd never learned to cook, really. Hell, she'd never even learned some of (okay, most of) the other "female" ninja arts, except killing and sex. Killing turned her on, so sex was a natural follow up. Her sensei hadn't bothered with the others, because if you were good enough at those two, you could pretty much accomplish anything. A flower arrangement just didn't have the same impact as a kunai to the base of the skull.

Ranma was completely soaked by now, and her silk garmets clung enticingly to her slight frame. This was a never-ending source of amusement, as well. Ranma was entirely too focused on her exercise to notice that she was a teenaged fantasy, and rather than point out how she looked, Anko decided not to say anything as she was looking forward to Ranma's reaction later as they walked home and she attracted the unwanted attention of the male populous of Konoha.

For all of Ranma's social incompetence, he was a genuinely intelligent and amusing guy. His ideas about women were way off the mark, but most of that came from his upbringing. He still had nasty habit of sticking his foot into his mouth all the way up to his knee and it manifested itself most often after he failed miserably at ninjutsu practice.

Because he couldn't mold chakra to save his life, he left practice sessions in a right pissy mood, which he'd take out on her. He was rude and insensitive and said shit that she pissed her off to no end. If he wasn't such a good cook, she'd have to consider kicking him out of her apartment.

His inability to mold even the slightest bit of chakra was becoming a liability, though, as he wouldn't be field ready until he could learn some basic skills and simple genin level techniques, like bushin and kawarimi techniques, not to mention tree climbing and water walking. Elemental techniques and manipulation, like fire balls and water techniques, were impossible for the time being.

It was getting dark, and Anko decided it was late enough to go home. "Let's wrap it up, I'm getting hungry."

Ranma tried one more time to water walk, but failed after a step or two. Still, it was progress. The walk back to Anko's apartment was pretty calm, considering that Ranma was tired and Anko was in a good mood. Her happiness only increased when some cocky twenty-something chunin sidled up to Ranma and tried to strike up a conversation.

Ranma ignored, the man, of course. Until he made a comment about her dress, at which point Ranma noticed the way her clothes were fitted to her form. It was everything Anko had hoped for. Ranma floored the ninja hitting on her with a vicious right hook, scowling at Anko the whole time.

"You could have told me." She was busy pulling at her clothing, trying to look a little less like a sex pot.

"I did give you a bra," Anko pointed out, helpfully.

That was the wrong thing to say, apparently, as Ranma launched herself at Anko. She was prepared, however, and with a quick substitution jutsu was out of the way. She took off across the roof tops, the red-head in hot pursuit behind her.

Ranma was faster than she was, but she had the added advantage of ninjutsu. Using the body flicker technique, she vanished from sight and arrived home.

Some time later, said redhead stomped in the front door of the apartment, glaring angrily at Anko as she sat at the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of tea. The tea had been Ranma's idea, and Anko had to admit it was a civilized suggestion from the lout.

Ranma didn't say a word. Rather she stalked up to Anko and swiped the tea out of her hand and poured it over her head, reverting back to her masculine form. Anko was prepared, however, and hit him in the face with a simple water jutsu.

Ranma wiped the water out of her face, her eyebrow twitching. "Why did you do that?"

Anko grabbed a handful of Ranma's boobs. "I didn't get to enjoy these yet."

A vein throbbed in Ranma's forehead. "I'm gonna break your hands if you don't remove them right now."

Anko pouted, but did as asked. She didn't doubt Ranma would carry through on her threat. "Ah, you're no fun. I thought that guys enjoyed watching girls grab each other's boobs. Or do you not swing that way?"

"I hate you."

Anko smiled. "You say the sweetest things."

Ranma ignored her and stomped away to take a shower.

Some time later, Ranma came back into the kitchen, showered and dressed in a pair of loose black pants and silk vest that left his arms bare. He started pulling vegetables and some meat out of the fridge as Anko sat at the counter and sipped a fresh cup of tea. It was enjoyable to watch him as he cooked; Ranma was a good bit of eye candy and Anko certainly appreciated the grace he displayed doing things as simple as chopping garlic.

"You could help, you know." Ranma didn't look up from where he was cutting a radish into paper thin slices for a salad.

"I can't cook."

"You can use a knife, and that's good enough." He placed a bunch of carrots on the counter in front of her. "Peel these."

"Nope." Anko pushed the carrots back across the counter. "Consider this payment for room and board."

Annoyed, Ranma grabbed the carrots from her and muttered imprecations under his breath. He put them aside as he washed rice, putting it on to cook before turning back to the vegetables that Anko wouldn't didn't help with. "Don't you even want to learn a little bit about cooking?"

"Why bother?" Anko shrugged. "I could be dead with the next mission I take. I'd rather concentrate on doing stuff I like."

Ranma sniffed. "What, drinking and whoring?"

"Well, the drinking part, at least." Anko sipped her tea. "Though having you here has put serious cramp in my style for the last couple of weeks."

"Sorry inconveniencing ya, but I'm sure your twat appreciates the break."

Anko shook her head. "You really are a piece of work, aren't you? Did your mother not teach you any manners?"

"Don't bring my mother into this."

Anko raised an eyebrow. It was time to start playing a bit dirty, considering that she knew more about his background than he realized. "Oh, so you think you can talk shit about me but I'm not free to retaliate? That's really brave of you. If you're going to talk shit about me, then your mother's fair game. Either apologize, or be prepared to take as much shit as you dish out."

Ranma's eyebrow twitched. He said nothing, concentrating instead on assembling the ingredients to cook.

"What's the matter?" Anko asked. "Cat got your tongue?"

Ranma twitched again, but this time for a different reason. Ranma put the knife he was holding down and glared at her. "My mother's a psychopath that cared more about her precious honor than her son. She made me choose between committing suicide or getting trapped into a marriage with a fiancée I wasn't ready to have."

"I'm sorry your life sucked. But you know what? Lots of people have shitty lives. That doesn't mean you can be a shithead, nor does it excuse you from talking trash about me."

Ranma opened his mouth to argue, but Anko just stared back at him defiantly. Unlike Akane, Anko didn't immediately resort to violence, and she was more that willing to call him out. He deflated a bit, concentrating instead on cooking.

For her part, Anko was perfectly willing to wait. She knew eventually he'd say his piece, so she watched and waited as Ranma made a quick stir-fry. In a few minutes, the cooking was done and on the counter. They started eating with just a few muttered words, neither really looking at the other.

Ranma broke the silence first. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." Anko replied. She popped a bit of stir-fry in her mouth. "But I meant what I said. You're not the only person who's ever had a terrible experience in life."

"Like you've got some dark, painful secret?" Ranma scoffed. "Whatever."

Ranma couldn't help but notice the haunted look that came across her face for just a moment. He put his chopsticks down. "What? Really?"

Anko laughed bitterly. "It's pretty much par for the course, Ranma. I can't think of a single ninja that doesn't have some sort of fucked up history." She took a sip of tea. "In fact, I think you'll fit right in."

"What happened?" Ranma asked.

Anko shrugged. "I was used and abused by my sensei, then abandoned to die. Pretty much standard fare for a kunoichi, really." Before Ranma could ask any follow up questions, she cut him off. "That's all the detail you're getting out of me for now."

Ranma nodded, slowly.

"What happened with you, then?"

"I had three different fiancées, and not one of them was of my choosing." Ranma took a bite of meat and chewed slowly. "One of them I kind of liked, and we were definitely attracted to each other. But I shouldn't have started messing around with her. She said she was using birth control, and she managed to get me alone for long enough that I couldn't hold out." He shrugged. "I was sixteen, after all."

"And then?"

"What do ya think?" Ranma said. "Turns out it was my mother who gave her the birth control, and it wasn't much more than sugar pills. Surprise! When my fiancée found out she was pregnant, my mother marched me to the altar with a katana at my neck and a tanto in my belt as a reminder that unless I said yes I was going to commit seppuku on the spot."

"What was her name?"

"Akane." He hadn't hesitated.

It took a few more questions from Anko, but apparently Ranma needed to talk. It was one thing to read the cut and dried biological facts about her student's life from a scroll from the Torture and Interrogation department, and quite another to actually hear the details from the horse's mouth. Ranma's past was complicated and stressful, but the major difference between his world and hers was the amount of death and destruction present in life.

She dealt with death everyday. He'd been forced to kill. Once.

But the level of sheer chaos in his life far surpassed anything else she'd ever heard of. Chaos was the enemy of all ninja, where as death was an old acquaintance that you hoped to avoid seeing for as long as possible. But still, she could see that the act of telling her about his life, about his marriage, and about his decision to leave was necessary. She felt bad for him; it sounded like under different circumstances things just might have worked out.

She recognized guilt; it at away at a person with a power that surpassed any acid.

Eventually he wound down and changed the subject to her. He pointed at her outfit. "Then why the hell do you dress like that?"

"Having no shame is different from having no sense of morals." Anko pulled open her coat, giving him a clear view of her mesh bodysuit. The action was intended to draw his eyes, and she caught him sneaking a quick peak, but looking away quickly. She laughed, enjoying his discomfort.

"Oh man, the look on your face was priceless."

Ranma muttered, but didn't say anything.

Anko grinned, finishing what food was left on her plate. "I do this to get reactions out of people. It makes them uncomfortable, and that's fun. Nobody in this village really trusts me, so I haven't had a lot of opportunity to find someone that's looking for more than just some dirty sex." She held up a hand to keep Ranma from interrupting. "While I'm all for dirty sex, I've been used before and prefer not to go through that again."

Ranma managed to keep his eyes on her face. She had to admit that he'd been a gentleman after the first glimpse. She heard him mutter softly, "I find that hard to believe." It was clearly not intended for her ears, but she called him on it anyway.

"What did you say?" She asked.

Ranma held up his hands in a warding gesture. "Nothing. I'm sorry I asked."

Anko could see that he was clearly uncomfortable with the topic, as he refused to make eye contact or look at her. This was even better than she hoped. "Does talking about this make you nervous?

He pouted. "No. I just…" He got up from the counter and began clearing dishes quickly. "I've just go no interest in your sex life, okay?"

This answer served to amuse her only further. "Oh really? So you don't want to know how many men I've slept with, or what positions I like the best?"

Ranma shook his head, concentrating instead on washing dishes with hot water so he wouldn't change. "Nope. Not really." He responded entirely too quickly. "I imagine it's a lot. Probably more than I can count, since I can only count to twenty if I include my toes."

"Cute, but completely wrong." Anko laughed, enjoying the game. "If you include my former sensei, then that brings the grand total of men up to about three. But he never did sleep with me. He mind-fucked me, which is much, much dirtier."

Ranma spluttered.

Anko grabbed a handful of her boobs and pressed them together, giving him a generous view of her cleavage.

"It takes a lot to get your hands on these beauties. Now, if you had asked how many people I'd slept with, the number would be much higher. You see, the kunoichi here have been much more successful getting into my pants than the men."

He blushed, which made her laugh again. She slid off her stool and around the counter to where Ranma was washing dishes. She placed a hand on either side of him, placing her body against his back. Before he could react, she reached into the sink and splashed him with some cold water that had collected in one of the dishes.

The change was instantaneous. Suddenly, Anko was the taller of the two and had better leverage. She ground her pelvis into Ranma's shorter frame and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "I think it's because kunoichi really know how to please. Oh, and by the way? This is my favorite position: me in charge, with timid young thing quivering beneath me."

"Thanks for dinner, babe." With that, Anko gave Ranma a strong thrust with her hips and used the momentum to bounce away, smacking the shell-shocked Ranma on the ass once as she retreated. She slid back around the counter and picked up her coat. She started to put it on as she headed for the front door. "See you tomorrow morning at the Hokage's tower at 7."

Ranma managed to collect her wits enough to ask where she was going, even if she was still blushing.

Anko raised her hand over her head, not bothering to look back. "Out. Your tight little ass has me turned on, and I'm going to see if Kurenai-chan wants to play. If not…" She reached the front door and opened it, turning to give Ranma a wink. "Don't wait up for me."

(JUST IN CASE THE FORMATTING DOESN'T WORK - END OF CHAPTER!)

* * *

AN Okay, this was reworked a lot. And to address the questions I know will be coming up:

1.) Is Anko a lesbian?

Short answer: No. It's like the girl's college phenomenon. When there are no men available, women (especially those like Anko), are more willing to turn to the same sex for relief. That doesn't mean they don't like men, it just means they're less rigid in their gender roles. Plus, when most of the village distrusts you, it limits your options.

2.) Fireball vs. Ki blast - bitch and moan, bitch and moan. Yes, they're pretty close. Anko's point is, she can do a similar technique as Ranma with a fraction of the cost that is much deadlier. A ninja's trade is death, after all.

3.) Why is Ranma so pathetic?

He's not. He's pretty awesome, in fact. He's just in a new world, with new rules. It doesn't matter if he can beat pretty much any opponent in a spar. In a life or death match, Ranma's in for trouble, since he's trained his whole life to avoid those situations. In a real one, he's at a serious disadvantage, as a weaker opponent can kill him quite easily (poison cloud, poison needle, explosives?). It only takes a small injury to make a difference at these stakes, and he's always been entirely too willing to take a blow to score a point. News flash: you're not fighting for points here, Ranma.

Also, thanks to very useful reviews from Kinematics and Ozzallos. I'm not trying to duplicate anything that's been done before - I'm just trying to write a good story.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

AN:

If you're coming directly from a link to here, I recommend you re-read from chapter 3, as some extensive re-writing has happened since chapter 3 was first posted.

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

* * *

Ranma had been squatting outside the tower entrance for a good hour before Anko appeared. Her eyes were bloodshot and she reeked of stale beer, and she was squinting at the sun as she walked up towards the tower stairs. She seemed steady enough on her feet, but that was because she was walking slowly and placing one foot in front of the other. Even without the smell, it was quite apparent that she'd had a long night out that wound down not too long ago. Ranma had the distinct feeling that it was only reason she'd showed up at all was because she'd told him to be here at seven.

He'd seen his old man like this plenty of times. Hell, he'd even been like this a time or two himself. So he knew exactly what to do to make her feel better. He waited until she was close by, and sucking in a lungful of air, shouted as loud as he could in a high pitched voice, "Hiya, SENSEI!"

Anko reeled and clutched her head in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut. After a few minutes, she opened one eye just enough to glare at her pig-tailed student. Ranma smirked, and gave her a jaunty wave.

"You sure you want to see the Hokage smelling like that?" Ranma shouted, grinning as he elicited another wince from his teacher. In the end, Ranma was right. She was in no condition to go on a mission, so she staggered home, Ranma trailing along with her chattering inanely about nothing at all as loudly and obnoxiously as possible.

The entire way back, she didn't say one word. However, once they got to her apartment, she shrugged off her coat and tossed it on the kitchen counter and croaked out the word, "coffee." She took a seat on one the stools, put her crossed her arms on the counter, and rested her forehead on her forearms. She was asleep almost instantly.

Ranma hung up her coat, and rather than making the coffee, went to the sole bathroom and started to fill the tub. He returned to the kitchen, and started some water to boil, pulling out instant coffee from one of the cabinets. By the time the coffee was ready, the tub was mostly filled.

He gave Anko a nudge, holding the coffee close to her arms so she could smell the aroma. She roused reluctantly. Ranma pulled one of her arms out from under her forehead, and put the coffee mug in her hand. He went into the bathroom to kill the water, and by the time he returned Anko had managed to wake up enough to sip on her coffee, even if her eyes were still closed.

"Rough night?"

Anko cracked open one blood-shot eye. The look clearly communicated everything that needed to be said at that moment.

"Anyway, the bath is full and ready. So when ever you finish that, you can go clean up."

Anko chugged the rest of the coffee and slid off the stool. She walked towards the bathroom, and much to Ranma's surprise (and delight), she started shedding garments, starting first with her chain mesh body suit. She dropped it in a pile in the middle of the floor, reached behind her back to undo her bra, tossing it to the floor as she staggered into the bathroom.

She wasn't wearing underwear.

Ranma gulped, rooted to the spot. Anko was a good looking woman, and it didn't help that he could see a very clear imprint of a hand on her backside.

It was a nice view. Sadly, the view ended, when Anko made it to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

With nothing better to do, Ranma simply picked up the clothing and took it to the laundry area, tossing it in the hamper. Then he killed time. It was quite a bit later when Anko came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and face flushed from the bath.

"I'm going to bed." With that, she trotted off to her bedroom.

"Hey, but what about training? What about more chakra exercises?" Ranma asked.

Anko shrugged. "Go look up Umino Iruka at the academy. Or take the day off. Don't care." With that, she closed the door.

Ranma didn't know where the academy was, but since it was still relatively early in the morning, he figured he could find it before long. This was the first time since coming to Konoha he'd had both the time and freedom to move around, and not wanting to waste the opportunity he headed out to see some of the apartments from the list the Hokage had given him and to clear his head from the image of Anko's naked backside.

The day was relatively trouble free. Ranma wandered around town, taking in the shops and inhabitants, getting a better feel for the flow of the city. He wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood, occasionally checking out apartments that were on his list. Most were significantly smaller than where he was currently crashing, none were furnished, and most were out of his price range at the moment, considering he had no income of his own until he started doing missions.

There was one apartment building that was priced well below the going rate, and from all outside appearances he could see why. Graffiti covered the walls and the words "demon" and "brat" featured prominently. The building was in decent enough shape, but few of the other units were occupied. He decided to pass, particularly since the people in the neighborhood didn't seem keen on having anyone move in to the building.

But he was bored with the apartment search by lunch, and asking around quickly found the academy. He knew he was in the right place instantly; a bunch of shrimps were running around screaming outside. Some of them were mock fighting; some of them throwing shuriken and kunai at wooden training targets, and some were just being children. All in all, it looked exactly like any other elementary school he'd ever seen, even down to the violence.

Ranma sighed, regretting that he hadn't gone here for school. On the few occasions that Ranma had been fortunate enough to be enrolled in school, pointy objects had been discouraged by the administrators, much to his disappointment. It took a few minutes and several inquiries before he found the person he was looking for. Umino Iruka was nondescript, except for the scar across the bridge of his nose. He seemed a bit surprised when Ranma introduced himself; not so much that he was an unknown genin, but that he was under Anko's instruction.

It took Ranma a bit to explain why he had come. Iruka chuckled when the truth came out, but afterwards was more than happy to sit down with him and talk about chakra.

Ranma understood what chakra was supposed to be; the problem was that he didn't fit any of the norms of this world. Iruka's explanation was no different than Anko's, but where as Anko couldn't explain why things functioned the way they did, Iruka was much more insightful. Having spent a good part of his ninja career explaining it to children had forced him to distill it to the basics, which meant that Ranma's questions, while pretty basic, essentially got down to the fundamentals of ninjustu.

"So, how does this stuff work?"

Iruka sighed. "That's… a pretty general question. Can you refine it a bit?"

"Chakra." Ranma held up his hands, palms facing up. "You've got two pieces, right? On one hand, you've got the physical stuff and on the other the spiritual stuff. And these are supposed to mix in your body and when you do some hand sign hocus-pocus, you get techniques, right?"

Iruka nodded. "Yes… but what is your question?"

"Can you split the component parts? What happens if you do?"

Iruka rolled his eyes. "Well, if you'd been enrolled in the academy like a normal student, you'd know all that that's pretty much impossible. Nobody can control the component parts of chakra, because doing that would require a level of control…" he trailed off as a ball of pure ki the size of a grapefruit hovered above Ranma's right hand.

Iruka just stared at the ball for a second, blinking stupidly. It took him a second to find his voice. When he did, he asked, "What is that?"

"Ki." The sphere winked out. "Pure spiritual energy."

"Ki?" Iruka rolled the unfamiliar word around in his mouth. "And can you do that with the physical energy, as well?"

Ranma shook his head. "No. I can't even touch the stuff. Which is why I was hopin' you could help. You see, I can't even do the simplest techniques. Or at least, not the way you do them."

"What do you mean, not the way we do them?"

"What happens when you do a kamiwari technique?" Ranma asked. Iruka opened his mouth to answer, but Ranma interrupted. "Not what the technique does, but what _happens_."

Iruka thought about it for a while, and then brought his hands up to make the appropriate hand seals. There was a slight disturbance in the air and a reasonable simulacrum of Iruka was left sitting in the teacher's place. After a second or two, however, the shape lost form and smoke billowed up leaving a log in his place. It thumped down on the chair and rocked slightly before coming to a rest. The chunin popped his head around the corner of his desk. He pushed the log off his seat and sat down, a look of concentration on his face.

"So?" Ranma asked.

Iruka stated slowly, clearly still thinking about the order of events. "Well… First I thought of the jutsu I wanted. Then, I made the hand signs. It was only after I had done those two things that I even tried to channel chakra."

"But that doesn't make sense to me. Aren't they supposed to govern how much chakra you use? If that's so, then why do you not even try to channel the chakra till _after_ you've done them?"

"That's… that's actually a very good question. I've never thought of that before." Iruka pondered for a bit, then pulled out a diagram that showed the body's use of chakra. Ranma nodded in recognition, having seen it's like before during his earlier studies. "It takes the appropriate consciousness and energy to perform techniques." Iruka explained. "The amount needed for each technique varies on a number of factors; your chakra affinity or type, manipulating the chakra effectively, and using the appropriate amount of chakra."

Ranma frowned, remembering Anko had mentioned something about chakra types before. "Yes, but it still doesn't answer my question about hand signs. Why are they necessary, if you aren't even using your chakra until after you've done them? What's the use?"

"I think that the real answer is that you don't need them." Iruka said. "The best ninja can mold chakra without resorting to signs at all. But in reality, most ninja can't do it, and the basic reason is that nobody has enough time, patience, or chakra to practice any particular jutsu so much that the hand signs can be skipped or shortened."

"So what you're sayin' is that most ninja are lazy." Ranma sat back and crossed their arms. "They'd rather have a bunch of flashy techniques to throw around than concentrate on perfecting a few of the basic ones."

Iruka shrugged. "There may be an element of truth to that. However, if you take an example from Konoha, our very own Second Hokage was famous for his own mastery of water jutsu. It was said that he could perform a jutsu that required forty-four hand signs with just a single seal. But it took a lot of work to reach that stage, and he could do it only because he was extremely talented, had a strong affinity for water, practiced a lot, and understood the jutsu on a level so fundamental that he could perform it without the other steps. But even in his case, he still performed most of his non-water based techniques using all the appropriate hand signs."

"Why?"

"Well, the Second Hokage was far from lazy. But he was the Hokage. He had a village to run, so by necessity his available time to practice was limited. "

Ranma grunted. He made a mental note to stay as far away from that position as possible.

"The other reason is that you also want a wide range of techniques, because you never know what you're going to come up against. If you concentrate exclusively on fire based techniques, you'll be at a distinct disadvantage when facing a ninja that specializes in water techniques. In the time it takes you to perfectly master one basic technique, most ninja could probably learn a host of other similarly powered techniques decently enough to get by."

"Then what exactly do the hand signs do?"

"The twelve basic hand seals govern a lot of things, but primarily they regulate the amount of chakra used by the technique. And while you still have to impose your will on the shaping of the chakra, the seals help this as well, since they've been shown to have…" Iruka paused, searching for the right word. "…elemental affinities, I guess you could say. So, when you use the Ram sign, it helps determines both the amount of chakra and the elemental affiliation." Iruka demonstrated the sign with his hands. "So this seal means that I'll be using a relatively low amount of chakra, and that the shape and elemental affinity would mostly likely be a fire jutsu."

Ranma contemplated the implications of this for a bit. "Then they also serve as a warning to your opponents about what you're going to do, right?"

"Not necessary, since many jutsu that have nothing to do with fire start with the Ram sign. Like I said, it only serves to mold a determined amount of chakra in a certain shape, but the elemental affinity or nature can change drastically with each subsequent sign. Complex jutsu require a lot more than one hand sign. You want just the right amount of chakra as overloading or not using enough chakra will cause the technique to fail. Hand signs help you be efficient, and using your chakra efficiently over the course of a fight means you'll more likely stay alive."

"So they're shortcuts, basically."

Iruka nodded. "Basically."

Ranma did a couple of half-assed imitations of the signs he'd seen so far. "Woohoo! Look at me. I can move my fingers, so now I think I can fight? It's bull."

Iruka grinned. "They aren't as easy as you think. Most ninja practice their whole lives to do them better and faster. It literally means life or death out there."

Ranma understood that in the end, hand signs were simply a way to compensate for the fact that most ninja could not spend every waking moment working on their control. It made sense. During a fight, if your emotions were running high, then a simple chain of hand seals could make sure your technique functioned, even if you weren't calm and collected to do it through force of will. Ranma hadn't had a lot of success so far using hand signs, but shaping chakra sounded promising – much more like what he was used to.

"So gettin' back to my question about what happened when you did your technique. What happened did you do? What shape did your chakra take?"

The chunin cocked his head. "I'm not sure I could describe it."

"Well, could you try?" Ranma asked.

"It was..." Iruka trailed off, silent for a good minute. Finally he shrugged, and gave a small laugh. "I'm just not sure I can. The technique is so basic that I just don't think about the shape I need. It's like trying to explain how you breathe; you just know how to do it instinctually. It's been so ingrained into my thought process that I can't describe it to you."

Ranma didn't make any hand signs or anything, but suddenly a log appeared where Ranma had been sitting, wearing his shirt. But unlike a normal kamiwari, there was no smoke, and the log certainly didn't have the appearance of the normal jutsu; no illusion was created to fool the attacker that they had succeeded in striking the target.

Ranma popped his head up from behind one of the student's benches, wearing an undershirt. He walked back over to the desk and pulled his shirt of the log and pushed it to the floor. "When I do that, I've got to locate something that has roughly the same volume as my body and anchor my ki to it. Then, when I want to switch places, I kind o' flex with my ki, ya know? When I do that, I go 'poof' and the log's there, but it feels like I'm getting my arms are getting ripped out of their sockets."

"That doesn't sound anything like what happens when I do a kawirimi." Iruka frowned. "And it certainly isn't painful."

"Well, it hurts enough that I don't use it unless I have to. It's easier to just knock shit out of the air."

Iruka frowned at this. "I've never heard of a case like yours before. Usually people can either channel chakra or not. Unless your coils are damaged, you shouldn't be having this problem, as you obviously can use at least one half of chakra…" The teacher trailed off.

"Yeah, Anko's already lined up somethin' at the hospital for me in a couple of weeks." Ranma said. He thought back on something Iruka had said earlier. "You mentioned somethin' about the shape and nature of chakra. Can you tell me anything else?" Ranma asked.

"Oh. Hmm." Iruka chewed on the bottom of his lip a bit. "Well, I'm not an expert on this, because it's really quite high level. But shape transformation involves controlling the form and the movement of the chakra, where as nature transformation usually deals with changing the chakra itself into an element."

"Can you give me an example of this?" Ranma asked.

Iruka grinned sheepishly. "Not really. It's said that one of the most famous examples of shape manipulation was a technique by the Fourth Hokage. It was called the Rasengan, and it was basically a spinning sphere of chakra that could tear through just about anything. Nature transformation's a bit easier, but only once you've become a high level practitioner and know what your elemental affinity is."

"What about temperature manipulation? Can people change the temperature of their chakra and make it hot and cold?"

Iruka frowned. "I… don't think this exists. I mean, there are abilities that center on ice or fire, but I don't think that the charka nature itself has a temperature, so to speak…"

The two chatted for a while longer as Ranma delved into the elemental affinities. He explained briefly that ninja often had only one elemental affinity, but with training could develop additional affinities or even, as in the case of bloodline limits, combine chakra types to form more advanced elemental types. However, only the legendary Sage of the Six Paths was able to use all five types of chakra with equal ease.

The lunch hour ended with the two of them still in conversation. Iruka had to send Ranma away as children were returning to the classroom, but he made it clear he was welcome to come back later if he had any additional questions. Ranma, on his part, promised to look him up later after he'd played around a bit with the information.

The sun was still high in the sky and Iruka's talk had given Ranma a few ideas to try. He made his way over to the training ground he used with Anko, and taking a seat under a tree, began to play around with what he could do. He couldn't mold chakra, but one thing he could do was manipulate ki. According to Iruka, this shouldn't have been possible. But manipulating temperatures was the basis for his most powerful attack, the Hiryu Shoten Ha. It was wind based technique that required a temperature differential between hot and cold ki to be vast enough to create a tornado.

Ranma knew that simply turning in a spiral and having some temperature difference between air layers couldn't supply enough force to generate a tornado. Something else had to be going on, and he had the first inklings now of what was happening. Ranma realized that everyone he knew back in his old life lacked the ability to manipulate the both aspects of chakra. For whatever reason, the physical aspect of chakra just didn't exist.

It made sense now. Not a single technique he knew or had seen in his old life was categorically lethal. The breaking point couldn't be used to kill, unless you brought a building down on top of someone. The Hiryu Shoten Ha beat people up, but it didn't tear them apart. Even the most lethal technique he knew, the Kijin Raishu Dan, could be blocked by ki.

In some ways, Ranma was relieved, because it meant that techniques he knew and the energy he manipulated simply wasn't suited for killing.

But just because it wasn't lethal didn't mean it wasn't suited for destruction. Objects were blown apart with ki just as easily as with chakra. In some way, ki could be manipulated in a way that chakra apparently couldn't. He could change the temperature, the density, and even change the power behind a technique.

Now all he had to do is figure out what advantages this gave him in a fight against a person using techniques designed to kill.

Time passed quickly as he thought about possible techniques and all too soon the sun was low in the sky. It was time to head back, not because he was done training but because he was hungry and had no cash to buy food. He'd never been one to pass up hospitality, so until Anko kicked him out he was perfectly content to crash at her place. He got free food out of the deal as well, even if he was the one having to cook it.

Since he was in no hurry, it was dusk by the time he got back to Anko's apartment. She was sitting at the kitchen counter when he came in drinking a cup of tea and eating toast. She was wearing the same outfit he'd seen the first morning he'd stayed over; namely, a spaghetti-strapped camisole and a pair of panties. He admired the view for a bit, but not long enough to get accused of staring. She caught him looking anyway, and the corner of her mouth twitched into a grin when he started stammering out an apology.

Anko finished her toast and downed the rest of her tea. She put her hands between her legs, and pushing her shoulders together, leaned forward and gave Ranma a full on shot of her assets, which threatened to spill out her top.

It was apparent she wasn't wearing a bra, either. Batting an eyelash in a false show of modesty, Anko coyly turned one shoulder towards him and asked, "See something you like?"

Ranma blushed fiercely, and rather than respond to her jibes walked to the sink and got a glass of water. Anko heard him mumbling something about shampoo, but she didn't see what hair care products had to do with anything.

Anko put her chest on the counter top and leaned her elbows on the counter, placing her hands under her chin as she looked at him. This posture, of course, threatened to burst the bonds of her camisole, and she smirked as she saw Ranma's eyes dart to her chest. But only once – after that he managed to keep his gaze on her face or on his water glass, even if his face was burning red. It was a fun discovery for her that Ranma, unlike the vast majority of the male population of Konoha, was positively bashful about sex. Anko her self was far from bashful, so wanted to make the most of this power over him.

"We're going to have to work on that, you know?"

Ranma didn't look in her direction, content instead to fiddle in the kitchen and put away clean dishes. "Work on what?"

"Your shyness."

"I'm not shy."

Anko rolled her eyes. "And yet, you can barely even look in my direction."

Ranma shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. "I just don't want to be disrespectful, s'all."

"Most women don't mind if you look, as long as you aren't creepy about it. It's natural. A good looking woman like myself would be more upset if you didn't want to look, personally. You should enjoy this opportunity."

"I can see a pretty woman naked anytime I want." Ranma muttered.

Anko reached over into the sink, filled her tea cup with some cold water, and splashed Ranma. The now redhead woman glared at her, wiping the water off her face. Anko ignored her. "Using a glass of water and a mirror doesn't count." Anko sat back up, as the posture wasn't all that comfortable for a long time. "Kunoichi are expected to use their bodies as weapons. You've got a body that's pretty lethal in its own right, and you need to be prepared to use it to your full advantage, and keep others from using it as an advantage against you."

Ranma didn't say anything. Annoyed, Anko threw a kunai at the other woman, and even though she dodged, her reaction time was slower than normal and she managed to nick the redhead's cheek. "Do you see what I'm talking about?"

Holding a hand to her cheek, Ranma nodded, still not looking at Anko.

"Jeesh. You're hopeless, aren't you?" Anko clucked, shaking her head. "How in the hell did you manage to get married?"

"I was forced into it."

Annoyed, Anko shot back, "yeah, but you stayed married, didn't you? Or did she leave you 'cause you couldn't even look at a naked lady without blowing your load?"

This comment was enough to bring Ranma's head up, her eyes blazing. "I left her. And I'll have you know I'm an awesome lover."

This brought a snort from Anko. "You can't judge that shit for yourself, Ranma. You've had, what, one sexual partner? What makes you think you're good?"

"It doesn't matter how many partners I've had. I'm a martial artist, so I can read a body like a book." She smirked. "Plus, I've got incredible control _and_ stamina."

"Control and stamina does not a good lover make. Hell, just look at the male ninja in this village. Most of them are worth shit, even if they can go all night. Women don't like being used as semen receptacles just to satisfy your ego."

"I can guarantee I'm better than them."

"How's that?"

Ranma gestured to her body. "I understand a woman like they never can. I make sure you'll get what you want."

Anko grinned and shook her head. "You talk a big game, but you'd better learn how to control that ego of yours. One day it's going to write a check your body can't cash, and when that happens, you're dead. Or worse, with that body, a sex slave."

Ranma looked her dead in the eye. "It ain't a boast."

Anko raised an eyebrow at that statement. She hmmed a bit at this. "Well, that sucks for me, then."

"Why?"

"Students are off-limits." She gave the redhead a once over, then sighed. "Too bad, really. You look like you'd be fun."

Ranma blushing again. "I ain't like that!"

"Like what?" Anko asked.

"I ain't perverted like that."

Anko rolled her eyes. "Enjoying sex isn't perverted or dirty. Who put that idea in your mind? You sound like some sort of whiny civilian."

"But what about love?"

Anko burst out laughing. "Love? Are you fucking serious?"

The redhead didn't say anything, instead looking intently at the glass in her hand. Anko's laughter trailed away. "You _are_ serious, aren't you?"

Ranma didn't say anything, so Anko asked him a question. "You were married, right?"

The question caught Ranma off guard. "Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you mean to tell me every time you had sex with your wife you were making love? Bet there were times you just did it for fun, right?"

Ranma frowned. "Of course."

"Then you should know better than to confuse love and sex. Ninja live a brutish, nasty, and short life. If you're lucky enough to find love, that's great. Most of us aren't. A vast majority of ninja die before we find someone we'd even be willing to marry, not to mention desire to marry. But we're human, and sex is one of the elemental parts of being human. If we waited for love, most of us would die virgins."

"You make it sound like it's like going shopping, or something."

"Maybe it is, or at least should be. The few ninja who are embarrassed about sex don't really last long as ninja, anyway. Killing people as a profession tends to strip away the bounds of normalcy." Anko shrugged. "You should leave whatever moral judgments and baggage you brought from your past life there. This isn't your old world. Things operate differently here. Enjoy it."

Ranma muttered a bit, but let it drop. Anko tilted her head. "What was it like, anyway?"

"What?"

"Being married." Anko supplied. "I don't know a lot of married men, so I'm just wondering. Was it worth it?"

"I guess. I mean, technically, I'm probably still married, since I never signed any papers or anything." Ranma said. "I guess it was… okay, particularly at first. I mean, once we realized we could…" she trailed off, blushing.

"Have sex?" Anko supplied, helpfully.

"Yeah. That." The redhead's face was as red as her roots. "When we first realized we could do that as much as we wanted without getting in trouble, it was pretty awesome. But we just went back to fighting a lot after a few months."

"Is it true that once you feed a woman wedding cake you kill her libido?" Anko asked.

Ranma laughed at that. "Not true. Fighting with your spouse does it much faster than wedding cake. But at least you get to make up afterwards."

"Sounds fun." Anko glanced at the clock in the kitchen. "You ready to start missions tomorrow?"

"You don't want to keep on talking about this?" Ranma asked, surprised.

Anko shook her head. "Nope. All this talk about sex has gotten me horny, so I'm going to go masturbate a bit."

Ranma, who had been taking a sip of water at that point, choked as the liquid went down the wrong pipe. Coughing and spluttering, she managed to get under control and asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yeap." She supplied, nonchalantly. "You want to watch?"

Ranma frantically waved her hands in front of her, saying no repeatedly.

"Your loss, then." With that, Anko got up off her stool, shifting her weight slightly back and forth for a few seconds as her hands disappeared from the countertop. "Be ready tomorrow at seven."

Relieved for the topic change, Ranma agreed.

"Nervous?" Anko asked.

"Should I be?" Ranma put the now empty glass of water in the sink.

"Yeah. After all, I finally get to put you in some real danger."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you said the same thing to me back when we started training. Let me tell you, I'm quaking in my boots."

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to go to my bedroom. Offer's still open if you want to watch, though."

Beet red, Ranma said, "I'll pass."

Anko pulled her hands up, and Ranma saw that Anko had the elastic band of her panties stretched between her thumb of her left hand and the other portion pinched with her right hand thumb and forefinger. She let go, and the panties shot across the counter, striking the shocked Ranma in the face.

"You can keep those. I've got more." With that, Anko sauntered off to her bedroom, her bottom bare, and the hand print from the night before still faintly visible. She put an extra wiggle in her hips, knowing that Ranma was watching.

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

* * *

The next morning Ranma nearly died of embarrassment when Anko came out of her bedroom, dressed in her normal mission uniform. Anko had been loud. The buzzing and moaning had kept Ranma awake for hours after Anko had gone to sleep.

Anko smirked when she saw that he hadn't gotten a good night sleep, but beyond that acted like nothing at all had happened, because in her mind nothing _had_ happened. Breakfast was a silent affair, then they headed off to the tower.

Ranma squatted outside the tower entrance as Anko went inside to pick up a mission from one of the Hokage's numerous assistants. Anko was pissed about it, though, because she'd hoped they would be able to skip the shitty D ranked missions and go straight to the good stuff. However, due to Ranma's rank as a genin she'd have to supervising him as he completed enough low level missions to prove that he was responsible enough to qualify for some more exciting missions.

Anko exited the tower in a foul mood, which actually made Ranma happy.

"Good news?" He asked.

Anko glared at him, and tossed him the scroll. "Lots," said Anko. She tossed the scroll at him. "So read your instructions and get cracking."

Ranma caught the scroll and opened it with a flick of his wrist. He looked up at her with disbelief. "Grocery shoppin'? Are the leeks around here deadly, or somethin'?"

"These missions are usually reserved for the kids that just graduated from the academy, alright? We don't want them to get killed on their first missions, and they learn the skills they need to be effective later on."

"So how does identifying leeks from green onions make some kid a better ninja?"

"Don't be a jack-ass, Ranma. The sooner you get these done, the sooner we can get to the 'interesting stuff.' I did D rank missions like this one when I was a genin, as did everyone else. As much as I might not like it, even you have to pay your dues before you get to do the fun stuff. Good teams can knock out two in a day. Given your skill level, I expect you to do at least three a day."

Ranma grinned. "Is that a challenge?"

"Yeah."

With a quick salute, Ranma vanished in a small cloud of dust. Anko raised an eyebrow, impressed. She couldn't detect the remnants of his ki signature, so it must have been pure speed. It was nice to know that Ranma was so easy to manipulate, but she'd have to work on that, too.

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

* * *

Ranma walked along the road, kicking a pebble down the street as they headed back to the tower for yet another mission. She only gave a quarter of her attention to his grumbling, well aware that that it was more for show than anything else.

"After all this talk about how I've got to be a killer, how many more errands have I got to run before doin' somethin', ya know, interestin'?"

Anko barely even glanced at him, content to simply walk beside him and daydream about dango.

She shrugged. "That's really up to the Hokage."

He grumbled some more, but let the subject drop. Things were working out nicely as Ranma was occupied by missions and training. He had mastered the tree and water walking exercises as well as the kamiwari technique, but still had no success duplicating the clone technique due to his continued failure to generate chakra. He managed to make an approximation of the clone technique purely through speed, but he was determined to try and construct some replica of the technique using his ki. The fact that he was fast enough to generate an afterimage was, to her mind, much more impressive than some simple clone technique, but for Ranma it was the principle of the matter.

So in between missions (milk runs, as he called them), Ranma trained himself into the ground.

Anko no longer provided any challenge for the 'genin' who was her student when it came to taijutsu at this point, as he had systematically dismantled her in every subsequent spar since getting out of the hospital. He'd taken to sparring for hours at a time with Might Guy. At this point, he was about the only ninja in Konoha who could keep up with Ranma in a purely taijutsu fight, and even he admitted that short of opening the Gates, it would only be a matter of time before he, too, was outclassed.

It was clear that Ranma was untouchable with purely physical arts, but he made no progress at all in chakra manipulation. In fact, it was pretty clear he would _never_ make progress, as a visit to the local medical establishment had proven. Ranma couldn't use chakra because he didn't have chakra. He didn't even have chakra coils. The med nin in charge of the initial investigation didn't believe the results, and ran the tests over again. Five times, in fact. Still not satisfied, they brought in a second opinion, and a third. All three testers confirmed the results.

Ranma would never be able to use chakra.

At least, not in the way the ninja of this land did. But, rather than being upset about this, he was surprisingly upbeat. When she asked him about it, he answered that it wasn't every day a person had the chance to create their own new school of techniques based on what was possible. Then he did something that most – okay, all - ninja in Konoha thought was absolutely crazy.

He started tying himself up and slamming his body into boulders. Anko arrived in time to witness the first "training" session he'd conducted, and immediately notified the medics for an emergency. However, by the time they arrived, Ranma had regained consciousness, and outside of a few bruises, exhibited no signs of mental trauma.

That didn't mean he was in any shape to walk or continue training, though. Anko had helped him walk through Konoha, one arm slung around her shoulders, supporting his weight as she practically dragged him back to her apartment. True to her earlier efforts, she used this as an opportunity to embarrass him, pulling off his shirt and trousers even in the face of his protests. It had given her a glimpse of what he was packing underneath his clothing, and she hadn't been disappointed.

The next morning Ranma was indignant, but Anko refused to apologize. She pointed out that in the case of an actual injury, clothing was gone as staying alive was more important than modesty. Unfortunately, though, after the first day of training, he was able to walk back under his own power, so she didn't get to unwrap any additional presents.

Anko had known that Ranma was a tough son of a bitch, but she didn't realize how tough until she witnessed him willingly slamming himself into a boulder four times his size repeatedly every day for a week. He didn't even try to avoid it – hell, he even screamed challenges at the rock and flew face first into it just to see if his head was harder than the stone. Sometimes Ranma switched into his female form as well, screaming obscenities at the boulder as she slammed into it repeatedly. She cringed watching it, but at the end of each day he hopped out of the harness, punch drunk but smiling.

After a week of this, Anko had had enough and decided it was time to stop. She really didn't see the value in the training exercise, considering the risking of a debilitating injury. She asked him what the point of all this was, since she was equally capable of torturing him if that's what he really wanted. Then he did something that stopped her in her tracks: he touched a single finger to the boulder, and it _exploded._

She managed to avoid losing an eye only because of quick reflexes, but the cut on her cheek bone drove home the point. Ranma was unscratched by the explosion.

Ranma taught her something that important that day. Since his visit with Iruka and the subsequent discovery that he would never mold chakra, he'd been working on figuring out just how much he could manipulate and change his ki. Because he didn't fit the normal definition of a ninja, he had no elemental affinity. But, he could manipulate his ki to mimic elemental affinities, granting him limited control over certain aspects of the land around him, as demonstrated to Anko with that single touch of his finger.

He threw himself into technique creation with a vigor that left Anko flabbergasted. He was worse than Guy, but a hell of a lot better looking. Besides, his eccentricities involved only self mutilation, not green spandex.

Another thing she'd learned was that while his ki blasts weren't nearly as destructive as most ninjutsu techniques, they were a hell of a lot quicker to pull off, and he could pull one out of his ass with absolutely no warning. He'd taken to hitting her in the hands with a small ki blast every time she tried to make hand signs, numbing her hands and completely disrupting her use of ninjutsu.

It was a pain in the ass, but more than that it was incredibly dangerous for anyone he fought. It didn't matter how strong your ninjutsu was. If you couldn't use it, it didn't matter. Once Ranma got in range to engage you in taijutsu, the fight was pretty much a done deal.

They'd also discovered by accident that his ki did more than just disrupt her mud clones. It also disrupted practically any technique that wasn't purely elemental in nature. Any mixture of elemental chakra and shape chakra simply lost coherence and fizzled out the face of a ki blast. Sure, it wasn't going to kill anyone, but it also meant that unless you could use purely elemental chakra, you'd be wasting a lot of energy fighting Ranma as a simple ki blast could negate most techniques.

There were very, very few ninja that could do purely elemental ninjutsu, and those that could tended to be wind users, narrowing the number of ninja even further.

The implications of this were enormous. She'd been worried that Ranma would be a sitting duck against a trained ninja. Now she was worried that ninja would be out of a job if Ranma's skills could ever be recreated.

Even genjutsu were of limited use against him, as for the most part they failed to take hold. Anko couldn't explain why, but she theorized that because he lacked chakra, the illusions just didn't coalesce around him. It wasn't that they didn't work, it was just that unraveled around him even as they were being built.

In short, Anko was damn impressed. Ranma was a dream student. While she couldn't teach him about ninjutsu, he soaked up everything else she offered as fast as she could give it too him, and then he turned around and improved on it, and ended up teaching it back to her. She felt stronger than ever because of it.

He cooked, he cleaned, he was good looking enough to use as erotic fantasy fodder in both forms, and he was a formidable opponent. But he still ate like a pig.

One day, after several weeks of training, they got called into the Hokage's office. Normally, the Hokage didn't assign D ranked missions, but he'd wanted to check up with Anko and her genin to ensure that things were progressing smoothly. Anko had done most of the talking, which had suited Ranma just fine. The Hokage continued to do paperwork as he listened to Anko's report, making noises to indicate that he was suitably impressed with Ranma's statistics (47 D ranked missions in the last two weeks, well above most other teams).

He signed documents while asking some polite questions about training and murmured in agreement that Anko's assessment of Ranma's abilities. He dismissed the pair and handed over another mission scroll to Anko, stating that the Daimyo's wife's cat had gone missing again. The Hokage's eyes had never even left his paperwork when Ranma asked if they could do something else instead.

Actually, he said, "'I really think you should give me something else. This ain't a good idea."

Sarutobi's full attention hadn't really been on the pair during the brief interview before, but now he was focused intently on Ranma. Anko looked both shocked and horrified at Ranma's lack of respect.

Sarutobi pushed the paperwork out of his mind and sat back in his chair, pulling his pipe from the stand on the corner of the desk. He focused his full attention on Ranma. "Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say you don't want to do a mission assigned to you by the Hokage?"

Ranma stared back at him stubbornly. "You really don't want me to do this one, old man. Trust me."

The Hokage lit his pipe and took a few puffs, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Tell me why you think that, Ranma." His tone was pleasantly neutral, but there was a dark undercurrent that even Ranma picked up on.

"I don't get along real well with those... things. You read my history. I went through the c… c… c… Four-legged furry-creatures that eat fist Fist training when I was little." He shuddered. "See? I can't even say the word! But when it comes to cc…. ca… Those things, I'm really not the one you want handlin' this."

Sarutobi frowned, reviewing Ranma's history in his mind. "This… Cat Fist training…"

Ranma blanched at the word.

"Is this really that much of a problem?" Sarutobi asked.

Ranma nodded vigorously. "You know I went through some pretty nasty training growing up. But of all the things I've been through, that was the worst." Ranma got a far away look in his eye. "It… It was bad. Me 'n them critters don't get along. You want me to fight some immortal god? Gotcha – I'm right there. But those thing? Not a good idea."

Sarutobi considered this for a moment. "While I appreciate that you might have some... difficulties with the nature of this mission, a ninja must perform the assigned tasks, no matter how distasteful."

Ranma shook his head. "It ain't that. I'm willing to do just about any mission. Just… not this one."

Sarutobi took a puff on his pipe. "Regardless of how you feel, I'd like you to handle this, please." He gave Ranma a mirthless grin. "Just think of this as a training opportunity. Besides, you will be carefully watched by your sensei during all of this, so you have nothing to fear."

"I ain't afraid for myself, old man."

Sarutobi cut him off with a raised hand. "This is not a discussion. I do listen to dissent, but this is a D ranked mission, not something that puts your life in jeopardy. You will do this mission as assigned. Given your current position here in Konoha, do you really believe it wise to disobey direct orders on such a trivial matter?"

"It ain't trivial." Ranma shook his head. "As long as you don't blame me for what happens."

The Hokage put his pipe down and smiled wryly. "Duly noted. I seriously doubt that anything happen on this mission."

"Can I get that in writing?"

The Hokage frowned. "Dismissed."

Anko grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him out of the office before he could say anything else.

Outside the office, Ranma twisted away from her grip. He tugged on his shirt to straighten out the wrinkles her grip had caused.

"What the fuck is your problem?" asked Anko.

He gave her a flat stare, then turned and walked out of the tower. There were moments like this that Anko wished that Ranma was just some young impressionable genin who's ass she could kick, because she really wanted to at this moment. She hurried after him, catching up before he got too far down the road.

"This… Cat Fist training you mentioned - what…" Anko began.

"Don't." Ranma cut her off. "Just… don't, okay?"

They walked in silence for a bit. "Then how are you going to accomplish this mission?"

Ranma shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Knowing my luck, the damn thing will find me." He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked down the road.

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

* * *

The Hokage chewed on the end of his pipe furiously as he examined what remained of one of the larger public parks in Konoha. It was simply... gone. A swath of destruction lead away from his current position and continued out of sight. Trees that had stood since the founding of Konoha were simply gone, and ground looked like it had been churned up by some S rank earth manipulation technique. Sawdust littered the ground, and the features of the park were dramatically altered, as well. A pond now occupied the space where a small hill once stood, filling rapidly with water from the shredded water main sticking up at an angle from the center of the park. A few trees had survived, but it looked like the bark had been peeled away in shavings, leaving the wood intact. Series of parallel gouges were found everywhere, scoring concrete, steel, and wood with equally. Anko was kneeling to his side, explaining rapidly what had happened.

"... and then the cat jumped on his face, and he just... went berserk. He started howling and walking around on all fours, and then the cat went tearing out in that direction." She pointed in general direction of the destruction, "He started shredding trees and yowling, but most of the destruction didn't happen until the ANBU had arrived. He was generally pretty friendly until they started throwing jutsus at him, and then he just..." She waved her hand at the mess, hopelessly.

"And the ANBU?"

A medic answered him. "All completely unhurt, except for wounded pride and some light scratches, Hokage-sama." The medic paused. "However, their uniforms and armor were completely shredded."

Sarutobi grunted. The ANBU combat armor was designed to resist bladed weapons of all kinds. He knelt to examine a gouge in the concrete. At nearly a hand and a half long, his ANBU should have been shredded to bits. Considering that the wood was as shredded as the concrete, it worked on organic matter, as well. For once, Sarutobi was glad that Anko hadn't managed to break Ranma of his habit of using non-lethal force yet.

Something about this was making him very unsettled, however.

"And where is genin Saotome now?"

One of the ANBU responded. "He is... chasing butterflies near training ground 42, sir."

"Has he engaged in any other hostilities?" asked the Hokage.

"No sir."

Sarutobi nodded. "Notify me if things change. Put the hospital staff on alert. Nobody is to engage under any circumstances. Anko?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Please find Ibiki and report together to my office at once."

"Ha!"

The ninja dispersed to carry out his orders. Regarding the destruction once final time, Sarutobi decided that he'd better send a letter to an old student, just in case.

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

* * *

"I don't get it."

The Third Hokage looked up from his desk at his former student, Jiraiya. The Toad Sage was sitting on one of the window sills, his back against the wall as he looked over his notebook. He'd been sitting there ever since he'd returned from his examinations at the hospital. Jiraiya didn't say anything else; rather, he simply flipped through his notebook until he arrived at blank pages, and snapped it shut with a sigh.

"Get what?"

Jiraiya gave a shake of his head, "This doesn't make any sense."

Sarutobi nodded, idly shuffling papers around on his desk, not really attempting to accomplish any work. He didn't say anything, allowing the silence to stretch. When he finally spoke, it wasn't what the Toad Sage was expecting.

"Jiraiya, could you ensure we have privacy in here?

Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't give any indication that he was surprised. He hopped down from the window sill with nary a sound. He removed an ink and brush set from a scroll, and went to work. He drew a relatively easy seal for a seal master, but even still it was hopelessly complex. Sarutobi lost track of the runes after about a minute. A few minutes later, the white-haired ninja finished, put his tools away, and placing his hands on the seal, forced his chakra into the array.

All the ambient sound outside of the office was instantly silenced.

"How long?" Asked Sarutobi.

"Fifteen minutes to be safe, sixteen minutes if you want to push it."

Sarutobi stood up from his desk, groaning slightly as he stood straight, knuckling the small of his back as he did so. Jiraiya blinked at this.

"You alright?"

"Of course not. I'm old, Jiraiya. Ninja aren't designed to live this long." He took of his hat, and set it on the edge of his desk, running liver spotted hands through his hair. "There was a reason I retired the first time."

Jiraiya didn't say anything, clearly confused.

Sarutobi came out from behind his desk, sitting on the edge. "So, about Ranma?"

Now that they were on more familiar ground, Jiraiya reported the results of his investigation. No hints of demonic chakra. No chakra at all, in fact. The subject in question exhibited no seals that indicated something might be sealed within the body. Even the scalp had been searched with a magnifying glass, and both of the boy's genders had been subjected to the same level of scrutiny.

"In short, Sensei, there is absolutely no evidence of demonic possession."

Sarutobi nodded, his mouth set in a grim expression. "I'm an old fool, you know that?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Did you see the damage that boy caused?"

Jiraiya nodded. "It was certainly impressive."

"The only reason my ANBU squad is alive is because that boy has morals, something we seemed to have lost somewhere along the way." Sarutobi turned his back, staring out at his window at the remains of the park. He turned back around, both because he could no longer stand to look at the remains of a once beautiful park, but to prevent his enemies from reading his lips. "I caused this to happen, simply because I was curious about what would happen when the boy was exposed to a cat. So I made him do the Tora mission."

Jiraiya frowned. "I'm not sure I understand, Sensei."

"The boy has a deep-seated psychological fear of cats that goes beyond simple trauma. I knew this, and still wanted to see the results. You see, the boy claims no knowledge of what happens after exposure to felines, claiming only that he goes into a berserker state until he goes to sleep or is woken up." The Hokage sighed. "This Cat Fist technique of his is also a conditioned response defense mechanism. He claimed it was an unbeatable technique. With the damage today…"

"Then why search for demonic possession?"

"Konoha's not the same place it used to be, Jiraiya. I'm old, and my enemies are simply waiting for me to drop. I've got no reliable successor." The Hokage raised an eyebrow in question at Jiraiya, who energetically shook his head to indicate he was not interested. "We've lost our way, I fear. And yet, this young man shows so much promise."

Jiraiya snorted. "Surely you don't want to nominate him in your place?"

"Sadly, no. It wouldn't be possible, even if he has the right mindset. No, what I have in mind for him is something much harder, I fear." Sarutobi sat down at his desk again. "The tree of Konoha has gotten weak, and I think it might be time to prune some of the branches so that it can grow strong again. I'm hoping the boy has a green thumb and can help when the time comes." He handed Jiraiya a scroll.

Jiraiya frowned, but took the scroll. "You aren't making another Itachi, are you?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "No. I'm trying to make another Shodaime. We need someone who can bring us back together. Unfortunately, I don't think my hand should be seen acting in this. On the event of my death, I want you to give this to Ranma. Do you understand?"

The scroll quickly disappeared with a nod. "I don't think you have to worry about dieing anytime soon, Sensei."

Sarutobi took a puff on his pipe. "If only that were true, Jiraiya."

"So what do you want to do about the boy right now?"

"We need a cover story. There is no longer a way of hiding how powerful he is now, and everyone will be looking for some mechanism to control him, one way or another." The Hokage began to fill his pipe, carefully packing tobacco into the bowl. "People are afraid of powers they don't understand. So let's give them something they know, and that they feel they can control."

"A sealed demon." Jiraiya nodded. "People will accept that, given that we don't actually know where the nibi is sealed and we've got Naruto already."

"Yes." Sarutobi lit his pipe. "Better this stigma, because the true nature of his power would be even more frightening. My enemies will believe they know what he's capable of, so when the time comes we'll be able to catch everyone with their pants down."

Jiraiya glanced at the seal. "We've got a few minutes left. What are you planning?"

"Given the nature of the problem, we'll need Inoichi's help on this. Then, for what I hope he can do, I'll need your help. Together, we should be able to resolve some outstanding issues…"

Jiraiya was rarely serious. He didn't even crack a joke as he listened.

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

* * *

Ranma woke up feeling like he'd eaten Akane's cooking and washed it down with a barrel of sake, then ate road kill just for good measure, judging by the taste in his mouth. He had a killer headache and parched throat, and his eyes had a hard time focusing when he first opened them and he was completely disoriented. It took a while, but he realized he was he was strapped to a hospital bed again. The Hokage, Anko, and Ibiki were standing by the bedside, each with a grim expression on their face. A couple of other people he didn't' recognize were also standing around the bed, including a man with spiky grey hair and a forehead protector with the word for oil on it.

"Any one got any water?" He managed to croak out.

A nurse brought a sealed cup with a straw. Ranma sucked the water down greedily. The Hokage waited until he finished drinking before asking, "What's the last thing you remember, Ranma?"

Ranma fought through the cobwebs in his head to drag up the last memory. He frowned. "I was dealing with that stupid c... c... stupid fur ball." He shuddered. Suddenly the hospital bed started making sense. "Did I go cat, or something?"

"Do you not remember?" asked Sarutobi.

Ranma shook his head. "Nope, I never do. What happened?"

The Hokage told him. Ranma grunted as he listened to the list of damages. "No one was injured, right?"

The Hokage shook his head no, and Ranma let out a sigh of relief.

The next question came from the grey haired man standing on the left side of the bed. "How long have you had a bijuu inside you?"

Ranma blinked. "A what?"

"A tailed-demon cat demon, or a neko-mata."

Ranma blinked again and turned to address the Hokage. "Hey old man - is this the hospital or the nut ward? This guy over here's spouting tripe."

The Hokage's mouth twitched a fraction. "You've been sedated for forty-eight hours, and..." Ranma squawked, but the Hokage simply ignored the interruption and continued. "During that time, Jiraiya," the Hokage nodded in the direction of the grey haired man, "performed an exhaustive evaluation on you to determine what had caused your berserker episode. He believes, and I have little reason to doubt him, that you might suffer from some form of demonic possession."

Ranma blinked. "..."

"In addition," the Hokage continued, "we've reason to believe that your inability to use chakra effectively might also stem from the same cause. You were sedated because we didn't know what to expect as you woke up, so we kept you under until Jiraiya could arrive to examine you. Jiraiya is one of our foremost experts on seals and demons, and I trust his judgment in this matter."

The man the Hokage had identified as Jiraiya leaned over the bed. "When you underwent this 'cat-fist' training, did it involve a lot of blood and seals?"

Ranma shuddered. "I can barely stand to even think about it."

Another ninja, unknown to Ranma at this point, stepped forward. "This man is named Yamanaka Inoichi." The man in question nodded his head. "He's here to help with your memory problems. We need to know what we're dealing with before we try to seal the thing effectively."

Something about this seemed off, but Ranma was a bit too disorientated to think clearly. He answered their questions as best he could. He glanced over at the Hokage as he was leaving. The old man gave him the briefest nod of the head, then swept out of the room, taking everyone but Inoichi and Jiraiya out of the room with him as he left.

* * *

(JUST IN CASE - SCENE BREAK!)

End note:

Still writing! Reviews welcome, flames used to BBQ. Please share your thoughts!

Couple of things:

If you're coming directly from a link to here, I recommend you re-read from chapter 3, as some extensive re-writing has happened since chapter 3 was first posted.

People complain that Ranma's underpowered. Hardly. I state quite plainly he's the best at taijutsu in Konoha, and he's got some tricks up his sleeves that the others don't. He's just not as lethal. A big difference, and mostly in outlook.

Thanks to some really good reviews that pointed out issues. A failure of writing on my part. Good criticism always welcomed; OMGWTFBBQ stuff deleted. I do respond to PM's if you have legit questions, but really don't respond about plot suggestions. If you want to write a story using these characters, feel free. After all, this is fan fiction.

~muishiki


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(Scene break)

-=-=-=-  
Ranma's eyes snapped open a few seconds after Innoichi removed his hands from Ranma's forehead. The head of the Torture and Interrogation Division frowned down at the restrained genin and stood. "How do you feel?"

Ranma shook his head. "Fuzzy. What did you do?"

"I did nothing more than conduct a simple diagnostic examination. Before I go poking around in there I need to get a feel for what I'm dealing with. You and I will be meeting regularly from now on. I will send you a message. Now if you'll excuse me?" The Yamanaka turned to go, pausing only slightly to narrow his eye at Jiraiya. The Toad Sage winked in return.

Frown deepening, Innoichi stalked out of the room. Jiraiya slipped out behind him pulling the door closed as he exited. Ranma got comfortable, settling back into his bed as he began to flex his muscles rhythmically to try and create some space in the restraints on his limbs. He'd only been working for a few minutes before the door to his room slammed open and Anko stalked into the room.

"So what happened?" She asked.

Ranma shrugged, which was an accomplishment given how tightly he was restrained. "I don't know. One minute I was talkin' with that Innoichi guy, the next I'm wakin' up with a headache and he's got his hands on my forehead."

Anko nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"The old man said the blond dude was here to help me with my memory problems. What's he mean by that?" Ranma asked.

"Innoichi…" Anko trialed off and chewed on the corner of her lip as she thought about how best to phrase her next statement. "He's a specialist when it comes to the mind. If anyone can help you, he'll be the one to do it. Anyway, you ready to get out of here?" Not really waiting on a reply, she began undoing the restraints, starting first on his right arm. Once it was free, she moved to his legs while he rapidly undid the restraints on the other side with his free hand. While he hopped out of bed once completely liberated, Anko climbed onto the bed sat crossed legged, her trench coat arranged around her body so that she wasn't sitting on it in case she had to move quickly. Then he realized he was only wearing a hospital robe that opened in the back, giving Anko a view to his back side, which she seemed to be admiring intently.

He turned around to face her so that she couldn't see his rear anymore. She pouted a bit at this, but made no other motion.

"Um... Where are my clothes?" Ranma asked.

Anko reached inside her coat and pulled out a paper wrapped parcel tied with string and offered it to him. Ranma pulled it open and sighed when he saw his familiar kung fu pants and shirt. He pulled the clothes out of the package and put them on the bed next to Anko, unfolding them as he made to get ready. When she made no move, he shot her a glance.

"Are you gonna leave?" He asked.

She smirked. "Nope."

"I need to get dressed."

"I'm not stopping you." Anko leaned back on her hands, allowing her coat to fall open a bit more as she simply stared at Ranma as he shifted nervously in front of her on the floor.

He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but stopped. Instead, he shot her a dirty look and grabbed his boxers from the pile of clothes, stepping into them without removing his hospital gown.

Anko taunted him for this, asking if he was so poorly endowed that he missed the chance to show a willing audience. He flipped her the bird and pulled on his pants before chucking the robe and pulling on his shirt. Without much reason to linger, Anko hopped off the bed and exited, followed by Ranma. One of the orderlies yelled at the pair that Ranma hadn't been cleared for release yet. Anko didn't even bother to acknowledge the employee as she pushed Ranma out the front doors of the hospital and into the street.

Konoha looked the same as ever in the daylight, but to Ranma it was apparent that something had changed in city during his stay in the hospital. As they walked through the streets, he noticed more people looking in their direction than normal. Ninja that ignored him before stopped what they were doing and starred as he passed. A subtle pocket of space opened in the street around them as people gave them a wide berth.

It wasn't limited to the ninja, either. Civilians pointed at him as he passed and whispered in corners to each other. Some changed direction when they noticed him, or darted to the sides of the street. Most bore a hesitant wariness of an animal that was being hunted. The more courageous people openly glared at him as they passed. It was him they were glaring at, too - he could tell that while they didn't particularly like Anko, she received nothing more than the customary leers and disapproving glances from the crowd they passed through. Fed up, he asked Anko, "What's with all the hostility?"

Lips tight, she cast a glance back his direction. "Just ignore them. They're idiots."

He snorted at that. "Really, though. What's all this about?"

She didn't answer immediately, choosing instead to continue walking for a bit before finally replying. "People fear what they don't understand, that's all."

Ranma got a sinking feeling in his gut. "This is about what happened while I was out of it, isn't it?"

Anko's plan was to continue walking, but she was brought up short as she felt him catch her elbow and spin her around mid-step. She pulled out a kunai and stabbed at him on reflex, but the knife was batted away casually as he looked her in the eye, his expression completely serious. The crowd parted in the street, creating a sphere of privacy around the two of them in even in the midst of the crowded street.

"Well?" Ranma asked.

Anko jerked her arm out of his grip. "Don't grab me like that if you want to keep your hands intact."

"Then just answer the damn question," he said.

Figuring it would be easier to show him than, Anko adjusted her coat and pocketed the kunai she'd pulled in the exchange. With a nod of her head, she took to the roofs and led him in the direction of the park he'd been found in the previous day. It was still apparent that the park was had been the site of a large battle, even with the hordes of genin working in teams of three to clean up the damage. Many of the trees had been reduced to either stumps or shavings, the concrete paths were cracked and torn, and gouges had been torn out of the grounds. In the midst of all the destruction a few spots of tranquility remained, such as an untouched bench or a fountain that hadn't been destroyed.

Hearing about it from the Hokage was different than seeing it in person. Nothing he had done in the past was this destructive. The unspoiled areas' pristine state of preservation served only to highlight the extent of the damage, making it seem all the more wanton and chaotic. There was no apparent rhyme or reason for why these particular areas had dodged the storm that ravaged the rest of the area. Anko sat down on one of the undamaged benches near the edge of the park, waiting for Ranma to catch up. He was still carefully surveying the park, trying to piece together what had happened. Flinging her arms over the back of the bench, she observed Ranma as he watched one of the teams picking up trash and piling it into a mound to be torched.

He slowly worked his way over to where she was sitting, and almost diffidently, he sidled up to the bench and sat down next to her. "It's a hell of a technique," she said. "The ANBU were just tossed around like balls of yarn. Then they got pissed and started pulling out the big guns, and well..." She gestured to the park. "Result - lots of D rank missions for genins."

Ranma just grunted. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"Beyond pride?" She shook her head. "No. If they had been, though, you'd still be answering questions. Consider yourself lucky that you got away with Innoichi as your personal therapist."

The sound of the trash pile catching on fire made Ranma cringe. "How did I snap out of it?" He asked.

"You were chasing butterflies over in training ground 42. You crawled into a tree, found a sunbeam, and fell asleep." She smirked. Reaching into her trench coat, she pulled out a photograph and held it up for him to see. "I have to say, it was pretty adorable."

The photograph was snatched out of her hand and tossed into the burning rubbish pile. She chuckled. "What, you think that's the only one I've got? Amateur."

He blushed. "Shut up. Do you have any idea how much I hate having this weakness?"

She looked the destruction that surrounded them. "Doesn't look very weak to me," she said.

"Total lack of control doesn't strike you as a weakness?" He asked. "How would you feel if someone with no talent could beat you by exploiting some stupid weakness you have no defense against?"

"Pretty much the same as I do now." She pulled down the collar of her trench coat, exposing her cursed seal to Ranma. He'd noticed it before, of course, but didn't know what it signified. "This was a gift from my 'sensei.'" She paused. "He called it the 'Cursed Seal of Heaven.' It has nothing to do with divinity, even if the curse is real enough." She trailed off. "He gave it to ten of us before he abandoned the village. I was the only one who survived. It grants power, but at a terrible price. Part of that price is that you are no longer in control, as this damn thing turns you into a puppet."

Anko tugged the collar of her coat back in place and pulled the coat tight around her body, as if she were cold.

After a lengthy pause, Ranma asked, "Why don't you get it removed?"

"Why don't you get over your fear of cats?" She replied.

He nodded in understanding. The two sat there for a while, lost in their own thoughts as they pile of trash burn down to embers.

"I'm hungry." Anko said eventually.

"Me too. You paying?"

"Considering you just got out of the hospital and all, I guess I'll treat you this time." She held up a finger. "But you owe me."

He huffed. "I cook dinner practically every night. That's got to count for something."

"It does." She nodded in agreement. "It's the only reason I haven't kicked you out yet." She hopped off the bench. "Since I'm treating, we're eating dango." She headed to the nearest dango stand. While the stand in question was not her favorite since the quality of the dango varied on any given day, it was cheap and close by, and that fit the bill perfectly right now.

Ranma caught up to her quickly, matching her stride as they left the park. "Your obsession with that stuff ain't healthy, you know."

They quickly fell into bantering about her dango obsession as they walked, but the entire time she paid careful attention to his body language and demeanor as they strolled. Ranma seemed to relax after hearing that nobody was hurt, and his spirits were picking up as they got further from the park. Unfortunately, as they left the park behind them, Ranma started getting annoyed by the looks that the people were giving him again. One old lady in particular gave him the stink eye. He stopped and stared back at her, completely at a loss. He pulled his gaze away from her when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked over his shoulder at Anko, who looked a bit irritated. "Come on." She tugged on his sleeve again. "Just ignore it for now."

Ranma looked back to where the old lady had been standing, but she was gone. Anko took to the roof. Ranma jumped after her, and landing in a crouch near where she landed, he asked, "If nobody got hurt, why are they all acting so mean?"

Anko didn't turn to look at him. "Like I said, people are idiots. Come on. Since we're up here, might as well get there faster."

The shop was very close by, so the rooftop run didn't last very long. They dropped down from the roof to land on the street near the front door of the eatery. Even if the dango here weren't great, it still had some redeeming features as it sold some good cheap eats and equally cheap sake. The fact that it held fewer than a dozen people even when full was a plus, as well. The décor consisted mostly of some stools around a bar, a few rickety tables, and some faded color woodblock prints.

The street outside the shop was bustling with foot traffic. A small queue of customers bunched together outside, waiting for a spot to open up in the restaurant. The two ninja joined the line, but at some point one of the men standing there nudged his companion and pointed in Ranma's direction. There was some low pitched murmuring, and the small crowd broke up and drifted away, pulled along the street by the flow of pedestrians.

Ranma frowned. Anko just shook her head, and when a couple of spaces opened up in the restaurant, Anko entered first. The chef behind the counter looked up to greet them in the traditional manner, but trailed off, greeting incomplete, when he saw Ranma enter closely behind.

Conversation died as the few patrons in the restaurant turned to look at the new arrivals and realized who it was. One patron immediately asked for the check.

Anko's eyebrow twitched. Stalking up to the bar, she sat down in front of the chef leaned forward until she was invading his personal space. "You got a problem with my student eating here?" She asked.

The chef shook his head, but his initial warm friendly body language was cool and cautious. Anko sat back down on the stool with a huff. Ranma took a seat next to her while the patrons in the restaurant continued to watch. Anko didn't even bother with the menu, having memorized it long ago. She ordered food for the both of them, keeping her eyes on the chef as he scrambled away and began preparing the food.

One by one, the patrons in the restaurant trickled away. By the time the food arrived for the two ninja, they were the only ones left in the place. The chef placed their orders in front of them silently before the chef retreated to the furthest corner of the kitchen.

Ranma looked around, face grim. He thanked her for the food before digging in mechanically.

For her part, Anko grew increasingly vexed each time a customer came in, sat down, and left without ordering when they realized who they were sharing the restaurant with. In the end, she didn't even finish her dango due to her annoyance. Dropping the half-eaten stick on the plate, she chugged her tea and stood up abruptly, pushing the stool back. With a sarcastic "thanks," she put just enough money on the counter to cover the bill and stalked out. Ranma thanked the chef and followed her out.

A small crowd had gathered around the entrance to the restaurant, regarding both of them, but Ranma especially, with thinly veiled hostility. The word "jinchuuriki" floated out above the din, prompting Anko to release a burst of killing intent that scattered the group and created a bubble of space remained around the two in ninja. Anko spat on the ground in disgust and stalked through the crowd.

By the time the returned to Anko's apartment, both were in a foul mood. "So, what's goin' on?" Ranma asked as soon as he was in the doorway.

She ignored him for a bit, taking off her shoes first before shrugging out of her trench coat and tossing it over the back of chair. "The village idiot apparently multiplied." She said.

"Oh good. I was concerned it had to do with me and that 'jinchuuriki,' word they were muttering about." Ranma stated. "I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. Why are people acting like I'm something Akane cooked?"

"Akane?" Anko cocked her head in confusion for a bit. "Was she a bad cook?"

"Horrible. Don't change the subject on me. What's goin' on?" Ranma asked again.

Anko brushed by him, hopping over her couch to sink down into the cushions in a cross-legged position, fingers laced together behind her head. Ranma walked around the couch to stand in front of her, hands on his hips as he gazed down.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?" She replied.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Fine," she huffed. "Look, people are afraid of what they don't know, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"And you're a big unknown right now." She looked up at him. "People are stupid, but can't blame them for being worried. The hidden villages are military dictatorships with a love-hate relationship with the civilian population. We need them to run the town so that we have the time to do the missions that keep these villages alive. But civilians pose a security risk, as it's an easy avenue to plant sleeper agents. Unfortunately, their contracts and market activities generate enough jobs, which we ninja know that we've just got to put up with it. So we protect them somewhat while looking for the agents in their midst. They put up with us because living in a city with a job sure as hell beats being a farmer. Ninja are by nature mercenary, and whenever you accumulate too much wealth, the balance of power and ninja starts to gravitate towards money. Once that balance is broken, the shit hits the fan and the civilians are the ones standing in front of it when it splatters. Sometimes we do it on purpose to keep some successful civilians from accumulating too much wealth. So they die because we can't protect them, or they die because we want to winnow their influence when someone gets too rich and starts acting they get uppity."

"What does this have to do with jinchuuriki?" Ranma asked.

"Nothing and everything." Anko sighed. "Human nature being what it is, what happens when you get a bunch of people trained to kill targeting people in other nations?"

"They fight." Ranma said flatly.

"Exactly. Happens all the time. Usually, they are over some piece of land or narrow strategic interest, ninja against ninja, trying to take out the other guy's capacity to fight in order to gain some sort of long-term economic or military advantage. They don't last all that long because total annihilation campaigns are too difficult and costly since ninja make all warfare asymmetrical. Because of that, the smaller villages survive, but resent the larger villages for the way they can lord over them seemingly at will. We can't eradicate them completely, but we grind them down so hard that surviving is the harder option."

Their discussion of the ninja economy necessitated some background history about how it came to be. The ninja arts, Anko explained, came from the Sage of the Six Paths, who discovered the secret of chakra and the art of ninjutsu. He had two sons. The older believed that peace could only be accomplished through power, whereas the younger son believed that the power of love was the key to peace for the world. On his deathbed, the Sage appointed the younger son as his successor, agreeing with his ideals more than those of the older brother. The younger, peace-loving son inherited his father's strength of will and physical energy, while the older son inherited the Sage's powerful chakra and his spiritual abilities.

During his life the Sage had multiple disciples, and the secret of chakra spread throughout the world, giving rise to ninja clans, and later villages. The sons too, in time, reproduced, creating to the Uchiha and Senju clans. Various other ninja clans sprung up, and for centuries prior to the creation of the hidden villages, the land was an ungovernable, lawless mess. Ninja clans lived in secret strongholds scattered throughout the land, or the clan-less formed small villages. These clans and villages fought for prestige, clients, and influence, waging guerrilla wars against their rivals to gain competitive advantage. Any form of skullduggery was permitted and condoned - assassination, extortion, kidnapping, rape, racketeering... because, when it came to being a shinobi, there was no code of conduct, no rules of engagement, no moral compass or ethical principles to rely on.

In the end, shinobi were nothing worse than high powered bandits, and that led to the collapse of their revenue streams, as fewer and fewer people would willingly deal with ninja as they were seen untrustworthy in the extreme. That began to change as the Senju and Uchiha distinguished themselves as two of the most powerful clans, the result of the extraordinary gifted inherited straight from the sons of the Sage - the Uchiha and the Senju. The two clans had a bitter rivalry that stretched for centuries, but neither clan was strong enough to overcome the other. They fought against each other so often that eventually they reached a truce, even if they remained bitter rivals. That truce led to the founding of Konoha, and the start of the hidden village system.

The rivalry never disappeared. Every action of the first Hokage was viewed as an attempt to discredit or disgrace the Uchiha. The head of the Uchiha clan, Madara, upset that he wasn't the village's leader and convinced that the Senju were plotting the demise of his people, eventually left the village, leading to an epic battle against the first Hokage. Records state that he lost the battle, but the evidence of it was still visible today at a place called the Valley of the End. With Madara out of the way, Hashirama consolidated power in Konoha and gained control of the Bijuu, the tailed beasts comprised entirely of chakra and malicious intent.

He was able to do this only because his earth release powers gave him the means and ability to control of the beasts. Konoha's might grew, and other villages formed as a reaction to the threat the Village of the Leaf represented. The concentration of military might into distinct focal points gave rise to concerns of a return to the previous state of eternal conflict between ninja clans. To prevent a war, the first Hokage spread gave the other newly-formed villages a subdued tailed beast in an attempt to appease the villages and equalize the powers between the nations, but it did not stop the outbreak of the First Shinobi World War.

With the death of the Hashirama and the resulting ravages of the war, the villages that were given the tailed beasts began to lose control of them, necessitating the creation of the first Jinchuuriki, or human sacrifices, in order to contain the incredible destructive power of the demons. The process of sealing the beasts was only partially successful, though, leading to the creation of unstable containers and weapons, which were as much a liability as an asset.

The war resulted in massive casualties on all sides, and much knowledge was lost as towns were destroyed or ravaged. Some argued that containing the beasts and channeling their powers, led to a war that was more destructive and deadly than it would have been otherwise. With no clear victor, an armistice treaty was signed between the five great ninja nations, leaving a huge mess and a pile of debt in its wake.

Though hurt by the war, Konoha's economic position relatively stable in comparison to the other villages. But the devastation, and the resulting economic burdens placed on the other villages that had to rebuild, soon led to disagreements over trade rights and economic "fair play." Economic disparity led to resentment, which then led to coalitions for economic betterment, which led to subtle, then overt, land grabs. The race for resources led to guerrilla warfare in the smaller, defenseless countries, like Ame. Lots of people died, some, like the famous Sannin, made names for themselves, and in the end little was accomplished.

Though the war ended, the bitterness created by the first two never waned. War led to more war. Though the Second War had no clear "victor," it did leave the great powers drained of manpower and financially weakened. The scramble for jobs and the competition between the needs of the smaller nations to secure their borders led to constant border raids and skirmishes. These eventually bled into an all-out free for all and a massive war of attrition, in which the great powers were forced to send children to fight at the fronts.

Through it all, the repugnance of the jinchuuriki remained. Though the location of the tailed-beasts was lost, the memory of their power and instability never left the consciousness of the ninja and civilian population. That feeling was only intensified when the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked Konoha. The need to contain the beasts was made very real, but nobody wanted one in their own back yard.

Ranma sat and listened to the history of the shinobi world, greatly appreciative to finally be able to put the strange people and abilities of this place in context for once. He had not been the best student of history back in his old life, unless it had something to do with an esoteric form of marital arts. When Anko began discussing the Third Shinobi War, she started gazing off in the distance as she began retelling some of her own experiences. Gone was the brashly exuberant and flamboyant ninja. In fact, she pulled her knees into her chest as she pulled some of her less pleasant memories of the time to the fore, as the crumbling power of the great nations lead to a brutal war of attrition with Iwagakure. At the end of the conflict, after all the death and destruction, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha.

"You have to understand how we all felt. The chakra of that demon..." She trailed off with a shiver. "We all knew we were going to die that day. We had no illusion that we'd survive, and yet, we did, because the Fourth sacrificed himself to seal the demon."

"Wait - what?" Ranma started, jumping to his feet. "Seal it? You mean that Konoha has a jinchuuriki somewhere?"

Anko blinked stupidly, thinking back to what she just had said. The blood drained from her face. "Shit..." She gulped and reached across to yank Ranma back down to his seat. "You can't tell anyone that."

"Why not?"

"'Cause it's a capital offense."

Ranma gave her a hard stare, familiar with how fast and loose shinobi here were willing to play with the lives of others. He pressed her for details. Anko was willing to provide the basic gist of the situation. It was a terribly kept secret anyway, given that every single adult in the village over the age of 18 knew, and many younger than that did as well. She was fairly certain that the Hokage would let this slid (she hoped, at least), but the fact that Konoha had a jinchuuriki was still a state secret, and spreading it around put the lives of Konoha ninja at risk. As such, the Hokage wasn't forgiving with those who divulged when there wasn't a pressing need to know.

Ranma could accept that, but it pissed him off. He stomped off to bed, his normal good mood thoroughly ruined by the evening's conversation.

The next day they were summoned to the Hokage's office. They stood in front of Sarutobi for a few minutes as he processed paper work and smoked his pipe. Anko fidgeted slightly as she stood there the whole time because of the smoldering glare Ranma was casting at the Hokage.

"Something upsetting you, genin Saotome?" The old man didn't look up from his work as asked the question. He simply continued to sort, stack, and stamp papers.

"Yeah. I learned all about Jinchuuriki last night. Can't say I'm impressed."

"Ah." The Hokage paused in his work, placing his elbows on his desk and resting his chin on his interlaced fingers, gazing at Ranma with an unreadable expression. "Rather unfortunate, that. If there were something I could do..." He shrugged even though his chin still rested on his fingers. "Unfortunately, the human nature is by far the most difficult opponent I've ever fought." He shifted his weight to rest his chin on a fist, and rooting around in a drawer of his desk with his now free right hand, grabbed a scroll from his desk. He tossed it to Anko. "Best get ready for a long mission."

They were summarily dismissed. Anko was quick to drag Ranma out of the office before he could start anything. Once downstairs, she unfurled the scroll and read the mission details, which elicited a grunt. Springing the news on Konoha that there was another "jinchuuriki" in town had caused a minor uproar. The scroll basically asked that they make themselves scarce for a bit, patrolling out of the way border areas. The time frame was deliberately longer than normal, which made a shitty mission even worse. In the best of times border patrol routes were dirty, thankless jobs that could be either deadly dangerous or deadly boring. They paid well, at least, and hopefully give the Hokage enough time to deal with the firestorm the recent news had created and give time for more rational minds and calmer nerves to prevail.

The problem wasn't only in Konoha, though. Other nations were bound to hear of this and wonder. Having one jinchuuriki already made other nations feel threatened. Two might just tip the balance of power enough to cause other hidden villages to get nervous and start stockpiling weapons, money, and manpower - the first step to a broader conflict that Konoha could ill-afford.

Ranma was still brooding as they stocked up on weapons, food, and camping gear before headed out on the first patrol. When Anko found out he could store his equipment in a hidden weapons space, she made him carry hers as well, though she did keep an emergency scroll on her person, just in case.

The first mission they took was the Hi no Kuni and Cha no Kuni border area. Stuffing all their various belongings into Ranma's stuff space, they departed early in the morning, heading Southeast at a steady clip. They ran for the better part of the day, stopping only briefly to snack and drink small quantities of water. Because it wasn't a particularly grueling pace, both were able to drift off into their own thoughts as they ran. Eventually the forests of Konoha gave way to flat, uninteresting grasslands sprinkled with small copses of trees at random intervals. The area relied heavily on merchant traffic going back and forth across the border area, trading in commodities and livestock. Konoha had good relations with these neighbors, meaning they were sufficiently weak they could be considered a vassal state, and thus had no real reason to expect real danger.

Thus it was a perfect place to learn the ropes. The ropes mostly involved running the length of the border at a leisurely pace, checking the area and border stations carefully for signs of enemy incursions or unauthorized entry, which might indicate the presence of a smuggling ring or some merchant trying to dodge excise duties. Because they had time to kill and Anko wasn't sure what Ranma knew about tracking, she took it even slower than normal to test his knowledge and fill in any gaps she found. Ranma had extensive outdoors experience, so the teaching went both ways. Since he had survival skills drilled into his head since he was old enough to walk, he often knew better ways of making a campfire without ninjutsu than Anko. It took a little over three weeks, excluding the nearly six days of transit time to and from the border, for the pair to cover the entire length.

That whole time was spent roughing it. The weather at that time was still fairly nice, and since there were only two of them, setting up a tent to sleep was more hassle than it was worth. One of them had to be awake while the other slept, so a simple bivouac sac sufficed until they got back to civilization. To make the time worthwhile, they would spend the morning patrolling a segment of the border, then retreat several miles into Konoha territory, where they sparred, trained, hunted, and cooked in order to pass the time. To avoid developing bad habits, though, Anko made them sleep near the border and take great care to mask their passage. Early on in the mission Ranma got splashed by water. Anko explained patrols didn't make fires to avoid giving obvious signs the areas were being monitored, which left the pig-tailed martial artist in a foul mood for a while.

Nearly a month after the mission was assigned, they trudged back into Konoha dirty and ready for the comforts of civilization. Anko, at least, was also ready to drink. After a long hot bath at home, she put on some clean clothes (or at least, what passed for clothes given her wardrobe choices,) and headed out to a local watering hole. The local ninja pretty much treated her the same as always, but the local civilians continued giving her the cold shoulder if they saw her with Ranma. Ranma found himself the continued target of glares, poor service, and deliberate overcharging when he went shopping. When they could, they reported the merchants to the Hokage, who simply sighed and said he'd see what he could do.

Memories lingered, and given the continued ill treatment Ranma was subjected too, it gave him extra incentive to sign up for additional missions.

The only wrinkle was that the kind of missions that would keep them out of sight and out of mind for a while tended to be higher ranking C, B, and A level missions, that as a genin, Ranma wasn't "qualified" for yet. Apparently the Hokage was willing to overlook the qualifications, but even still there were certain categories of missions that he was unable to send a two person team to handle. Since Ranma flat out refused to do assassination missions (regardless of how much Anko whined), that left them with patrols.

However, before he could depart Konoha for a long-term patrol, Ranma had to visit with Innoichi in order to receive clearance to head back out into the field.

Innoichi pulled his hand back from Ranma's forehead and sat down on the stool, shaking his head. He'd just spent a few moments observing some of the memories of the initial ritual the boy's father had used on him. He didn't like reliving other people's trauma, but this time he was attempting something rather hazardous, and the information served a purpose anyway. No, what he was doing was probably the safest route to tackling the problem. If what the Hokage said was true, he needed to be very careful with this particular patient.

The problem was is that what the Hokage said wasn't true. Ranma was as much a jinchuuriki as his daughter, Ino. That didn't mean the ninja lying down on the stretcher next to him didn't have a crippling phobia. But phobias that unleashed deadly attacks and housing a malevolent demonic entity in your body were two different stories.

That was a discussion for later. Right now he had a job to do. He reached back towards Ranma's forehead, placing his fingers on either side of his temples.

It always felt like falling when he triggered the mind-body transfer. But rather than taking over Ranma's mindscape, Innoichi had a different purpose in mind. Through a manifestation of his will, he checked his momentum and stopped short, landing (metaphorically speaking) in limbo, the space between conscious thought and the physical structures of the brain. This was the space he used often before conducting interrogations, as it gave him access to the mind from outside the mindscape, and thus he could see if the mind or memory had been tampered with – a valuable tool for a ninja trying to extract information from a prisoner.

He'd have to teach Ino to do this someday. But he was here for a different reason.

Manifesting an astral projection of his own psyche within this space, he appeared as microscopic version of himself, a speck floating in the fluid of Ranma's brain casing. Before him stretched a vista few had ever seen, particularly from this vantage point. Ranma's brain lay spread beneath him, a vast pinkish-beige mass riddled with crevasses and cracks. He sped towards the surface, the vast sphere rapidly becoming a flat plain as he approached, stretching to fill the horizon. Anyone else wouldn't have had a clue about what to look for, but to Innoichi, the brain was a playground.

He wondered idly what the Hokage's plans for Ranma were. You didn't brand someone a jinchuuriki, particularly if they weren't, without damn good reason. But he trusted the old man had a good reason. Rather than ponder something that was probably above his pay grade, he started paying attention to his surroundings, looking for some hint of the altered brain structures indicative of fear induced trauma.

It wasn't long before he found the first hint of what he was looking for – a twisting path of neurons, evidence of massive amounts of trauma and terror. A real brain surgeon wouldn't have noticed a difference, really, because there was nothing that differentiated this neural path from any others except for one key point; this visualization was all as simply a manifestation of Innoichi's will as he was looking for something specific. If he wanted to find evidence of trauma, his own innate bloodline helped isolate it until it shone out like a beacon.

His astral projection shrank even more, entering into the twists and turns of the gyri and sulci, till he found the pathway he was looking for. He shrank further, till he was the size of the electrical pulse zipping back and forth across the synapses. Innoichi picked an electrical charge and followed the signal back to its source, leaping from axon to dendrite, from cell to cell, until he worked his way deeper into the cortex, towards the brain stem.

And there it was. A quivering, pulsating mass of black was wrapped around the amygdale, with thick, pulsating tendrils stretching into every other part of the brain. It wasn't a physical structure, but rather a manifestation of Ranma's link to his phobia. It was ingrained at this point, intertwined with almost every conscious action and thought of the boy's body.

Just to see what would happen, Innoichi picked the thickest tendril he could find, and, reversing course, followed it away from the mass of terror wrapped around the core of the boy's limbic system. After a while, it branched and thinned, and he picked the thinnest branch in the fork and continued following. Every time he came to a fork, Innoichi picked the thinnest possible strand to follow each time until the tendril came to an end.

It eventually ended in the frontal lobe, near the part of the part of the brain used for non-task based long-term memory storage.

Where the trail ended, he reached down, and like a gardener removing a creeper of ivy clinging to a crumbling wall, pulled. He slowly traveled the length of the tendril, pulling it free, until he arrived at the point from which it branched. With a quick swipe of a manifestation of a kunai he severed the creeper, feeling it vanish into nothingness, carefully watching the source to make sure there were no changes or signs of growth.

Almost immediately, where he had severed the tendril, a thick, black crud seeped forth, slowly flowing from neuron to neuron until it reclaimed as much ground as had been freed from the initial extraction. He sighed.

This was going to be a long project.

The Hokage sighed when he saw the look on Innoichi's face as he entered the office and closed the door behind him. He flicked his eyes over to Jiraiya, who grunted. The fact that Innoichi didn't even notice was a testament to his mental state.

Even though it was still early in the day, the Hokage reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and three small white porcelain cups. The sound of the cups hitting the desk seemed to capture Innoichi's attention, as his awareness snapped back to the present and the cups on the Hokage's.

Sarutobi lined the cups up on his desk, and carefully filled each one. The sound of the liquid pouring out of the bottle dominated the room. He handed one to a Jiraiya, and the second to Innoichi. Innoichi accepted the cup with a nod, and without ado, tipped it back and drained it in one shot.

Jiraiya sipped his beverage and watched with amusement when Innoichi began coughing after gulping down the drink. Eventually the ANBU interrogator manage to cough out, "...not sake."

The Hokage grinned. "No. I figured you'd want something with a bit more... bracing for our discussions."

Innoichi nodded, holding his cup out again for a refill. The Hokage raised an eyebrow and obliged.

Having filled Innoichi's cup, the Hokage leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his own beverage, inviting questions. Innoichi would have seen through the cock and bull story he and Jiraiya cooked up in an instant once he got his hands on Ranma. Sarutobi knew it took a lot to bother Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force specialist, but he could tell that Innoichi was clearly troubled by whatever it was he'd seen in Ranma.

Sarutobi asked, "So how accurately does Ranma's personnel file match up to what you found today?"

Innoichi grimaced. He'd read Ibiki's report on the subject, but reading about his life and seeing the proof were two different things. He'd been expecting a mess, but his first trip into the boy's mind-scape had been disturbing. It had mostly been a superficial examination, in part to familiarize himself with the brain of the patient. He'd gone in carefully, examining only the top-most levels and structures of the boy's brain just in case he ran into evidence of demonic possession. It had been immediately apparent that he'd been subjected to massive levels of physical and emotional trauma from an early age. He'd only seen damage this extensive in grizzled war veterans and long-term prisoners.

Coupled with what he'd discovered today about the phobia the subject was suffering from and the total absence of demonic possession...

"I believe the boy significantly downplayed the level of abuse he was subjected to. However, that is irrelevant to the purpose of this visit," said Innoichi. "While it is possible I simply didn't try hard enough, I failed to find any evidence that Ranma is a jinchuuriki."

At least Yamanaka was polite enough to give him a way to save face. Hiruzen caught Jiraiya's eye, and the white-haired nodded in understanding.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Yes. About that... We," he jerked his thumb in the Hokage's direction, "have a very good reason for what we did."

"I imagined as much." His eyes flicked over to the Hokage, who simply sipped on his beverage. "But to what purpose?"

Rather than answer immediately, Sarutobi took his hat off and put it on the corner of his desk, followed by his cup. He leaned forward until his elbows rested on his desk, and with a sigh, bent over and cradled his head in his hands, using the heel of his hands to cover his eyes. He stayed like that for few seconds before straightening.

Finally, he asked. "How would you characterize Ranma's sense of morality?"

This question caught Innoichi off guard a bit. Morality was fraught word in the ninja business. As long as a ninja displayed the appropriate loyalty village and accomplished the mission, anything was permissible. To give himself time to think, he took a long pull on his cup, nearly emptying the contents.

Once his thoughts were structured, he spoke. "His morality is flexible enough, as his basic philosophy in life is to accomplish a task using any and all means necessary, but he has core principles and a sense of honor that will get him killed if he remains a ninja long. One of them is his abhorrence and deeply-rooted belief that taking a life if not absolutely necessary is a sign of weakness and laziness."

Both Sarutobi and Jiraiya nodded at the assessment. "I also believe that is true. Until he either accepts reality here in this place, the boy will never be a true ninja." The Hokage stated. Then he spread his hands. "But who's to say we need another ninja? I am not sure I want him to ever lose that sense of right and wrong. However, due to his phobia of cats, he will be unable to contribute fully to the good of Konoha until this problem he is faced with can be dealt with."

"I understand the need to remove the phobia, and in that my role is clear. Beyond that, however, my utility becomes questionable." Innoichi stated.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair. "If I asked you what one thing Konoha is currently lacking, what would you say it is?"

Innoichi thought hard, trying to see the question for what it was. Given recent history... "I am not Shikaku, but we've talked about this often enough. If there is a threat to Konoha currently, it is that current political structure is unsustainable. The major clans were devastated by the attack of the Kyuubi and the Uchiha have only one remaining scion. Power has been centralized to the point where there is too much responsibility in the hands of too few, and those who hold power are not the Hokage, nor do they seem to be operating with the interests of Konoha in mind. Merchants and council members are accumulating great personal wealth and engaging in intrigue. If our own enemies weren't also in the same state of distress, I would consider us more vulnerable right now than we've been in a while. You spend much of your time dealing with politics and not with the threats we face."

Sarutobi sighed. "While I might quibble with you on a few points, I unfortunately must agree with your overall assessment." He stood up, hands clasped behind his back as he walked over towards the window in which the Hokage monument was visible. "Konoha is currently lacking the will of fire. A few bright spots appear, such as young Naruto. But we have become complacent, and that complacency will destroy us. Ranma is different, you see. He is not tainted by our world yet, and with the proper care and assistance, the boy will become something of incredible value to Konoha. I intend to use his unique skills for the benefit of this nation."

Jiraiya who spoke up. "Given your examination of him, do you believe that Ranma has the will of fire?"

After some reflection, Innoichi nodded. "Yes. His basic beliefs are in accordance to the principles espoused by the philosophy of the Shodai."

The Hokage walked to his desk, picked up the bottle, and walking over to Innoichi, slowly refilled his empty saucer. "I want to restore balance. I want us to be strong again. The ember remains, and with some stoking will burn brightly again. In the meantime, I need some green thumbs to plant the proper seeds in the boy and nurture them till they take route and flourish."

Innoichi watched Sarutobi's face carefully during this whole exchange. One didn't torture and interrogate people for living and not know how to weigh and measure the slightest inflections and micro-expressions. He had not seen the Hokage this energized in a while. He reflected carefully on what was said, and more importantly, what was not said, before slowly picking up his saucer and raising it in front of his face. "I believe... that I can assist with that." He raised his cup a bit more, toasting Sarutobi.

As he knocked his drink back, he couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of what would happen once this plan came to fruition.


	6. Chapter 6

AN - This chapter contains adult content. Reader discretion is advised. The content has been marked, so skip over if the content offends.

A routine quickly developed between Ranma and Anko. They would head out for two-to-three week stretches, hand in their reports to the Hokage, crash and recuperate for a few days while cleaning up and washing laundry. Before they would be cleared to take another mission, however, Ranma would have to have another session with Inoichi. These generally lasted a couple of hours, and he'd have a nasty migraine afterwards that would generally require a full day to recover before he felt up to hitting the road again.

Once he recovered, they would head off to patrol yet another bug infested area of Hi no Kuni. It was a waste of their talents, but the money was good and it kept them out of Konoha. Anko stopped complaining vocally after the first couple of missions, but she still grumbled about it every time the Hokage handed them yet another scroll asking them to investigate another god-forsaken corner of the land.

Ranma and Anko already had spent lots of time together prior to starting this regimen, given their training schedule and the fact that Ranma boarded at Anko's flat. However, that had nothing on spending weeks at a time trudging through swamps and roughing it in the woods alone. The last time Ranma had spent this much time in close proximity with someone had been his father.

Unlike when he traveled with his dad, though, he enjoyed the company. Anko, bat-shit crazy as she was, was funny and fun loving. They annoyed each other, but even with the stresses of the missions and the scorn from the village, the aggravation never turned into animosity. Perhaps it never turned to animosity because of the shared experience of unwarranted hostility from the village for circumstances beyond their control. Anko, in her normal fashion, told everyone to perform an anatomically impossible act and stood up for Ranma, even if he was perfectly capable of doing it himself. She'd been through this before and knew the drill. It would blow over to some extent, and until that happened, Ranma needed to lie low and work on building up his reputation.

Maybe the civilians would never be won over, but the ninja of Konoha were a more understanding lot. In the end, they were also the only ones who mattered. As she stated, you only had to kiss one ass if it was the ass at the very top, and in Konoha, that ass belonged to the Hokage. As they traveled, Anko shared stories about the treatment she received after coming back to Konoha when she'd been marked with the cursed seal by Orochimaru. Her current quirkiness was a response to the social exclusion she experienced, which she readily acknowledged.

She had also been a "risk" when she first came back, and at the demand of the crones on the council, was forced to undergo extensive "sessions" with Inoichi. The results, she proudly announced, were that she had "attachment issues," "deep seated trust issues," "little respect for authority," and an "unhealthy tendency to resort to violence to solve problems." When she received a copy of her psyche report, she framed it and hung it on her wall in an old apartment. She was proud to be broken, because no ninja worth their salt was completely sane. Personality quirks were just another tool in her arsenal to keep "the fuckers" at bay so that she could focus on the things she wanted to do.

Personality quirks aside, she was smart, curious, and enjoyed philosophical arguments about life, the universe, and everything. Ranma, never having been a philosopher, was initially unable to really contribute much to their discussions, as life had always been about the reality of the next meal or the next technique. But given enough free time and released from his normal social constraints, he realized he enjoyed her flights of fancy, and followed her down the rabbit hole when he could. His own experiences were so beyond the realm of normal that she spent many an hour listening to him recount the crazy situations and trainings he'd been subject too.

Ranma realized that Anko was the closest thing to a real friend since he and Ryoga had buried the hatchet years ago. What made it strange for him is that she was female - and that she had no ulterior motives. Sure, she had been assigned as his teacher, but in reality she'd been more a guide than anything else. She'd helped him navigate this strange new world he'd ended up in. She might make crude jokes and embarrass him, but there was no honor that had to be satisfied, nor was he just some prize to be won. Even as he was bound to Konoha for security reasons, he'd experienced the most freedom he'd ever had in his life to this point.

It was strange to realize that he found freedom of a sort amidst a band of cold-blooded killers.

They had fun while they could, because the mission schedule didn't really leave much time for anything else. By necessity they traveled light, their gear secreted away in storage scrolls, or in Ranma's case, his hidden weapons space. They covered large swaths of territory each day and minimized the signs of their passage by not setting up camps during the missions when they could avoid it. They slept in trees using camouflage bivouac sacs, alternating sleeping shifts and catching game or eating rations as they moved. All trash was packed out, and as much as possible they tried to stick to the trees in order to prevent enemy forces from tracking their movements based off of foot prints or bent grasses.

In the more dangerous areas, like the border areas with countries that they did not have alliances with, sleep shifts were limited to thirty minutes for every four hours, alternating shifts. This meant one of the two was catching a nap every other hour, but beyond the brief resting time they were in motion, running at nearly top speed. Fire pits were forbidden. Game was cooked on a stick held into a low-level kanton jutsu that Anko pointed into the sky, but only at high noon, when the flare from the flames were least likely to give away their presence. When they bathed, it was in cold streams with rocky beds, to avoid disturbing sand and sending clouds down river, where it might tip off some keen-eyed observer.

Their schedule also didn't leave much time to train. Ranma continued trying to recreate some of the skills he'd seen ninja doing with chakra using his ki, but was having little success. Hot and cold ki he could do, but not fast enough to be of any use in creating techniques; he was certainly unable to create fire or ice. Water was a complete failure so far. He had a sneaking suspicion that his curse would forever put creating water out of his reach, as it would be too close to a cure. It was a times like this that he missed Happosai and Cologne, as between the two of them they probably had a technique that mimicked electricity. On his own, he had no clue how he'd go about manipulating his ki into something like lightning.

Earth manipulation was difficult, though due to the bakusai tenketsu training, he was able to perceive the energy lines in the earth with more clarity than before, leaving him hopeful for future breakthroughs. He was having some limited success with wind, as the Hiryushoten Ha gave him a base from which to experiment. But it would take a lot of work to move from gentle breezes created by pushing air with his hands to creating gale strong enough to knock down a tree. Cutting vacuum blades he could do because of the sealed art he'd learned from his father. But due to the fact they were always on the move and couldn't leave evidence of their passing, he couldn't take the time necessary to experiment on some of his ideas and thus wasn't advancing as rapidly as he'd hoped.

The pace they set grueling. There were a couple of reasons for it. First, as only a two person team, they didn't have two extra bodies to divide up duties, so the days were long. Second, the Hokage had given them fairly ambitious time frames, because he knew they had more stamina than the average genin team. One patrol would be no problem, but because they were doing multiple tours back to back, they were starting to slowly tire out.

That was dangerous, because if (and when) they did encounter an enemy patrol they'd be fighting outnumbered and tired. Tired ninja made mistakes, and ninja that made mistakes often didn't live to tell about them. For all their grand plans to chill out when they got back to Konoha, after a few days the hate-filled looks and shitty service in businesses would be enough make Ranma want to leave again. Anko got tired of being shunned by ignorant civilians. Her friends were there for her, of course, but the problem for Anko was that she had few friends, and they were likely to be gone on a mission when she returned.

They both agreed that it would be better to be out in the woods getting chewed on by bugs than dealing with human nature. Bugs could be dealt with; human nature required more patience and social skills than either of them had. After a while the missions began to blend together. The weather began to shift as fall came to Hi no Kuni, followed quickly by winter. Ranma spent a great deal of his time on patrols in his female form, as hot water was a premium and cold water was everywhere.

Ranma had noticed that his curse behaved strangely in this land. He had resigned himself to being a water magnet. In Japan, his curse was constantly being triggered and often at the most inopportune moment, as if the curse sought to cause him the greatest amount of embarrassment or inconvenience. Here, though, it seemed almost... quiescent. It was hard to describe.

It seemed almost as if there was some sort of accounting mechanism to make sure he spent an equal amount of time in both genders. Since he spent so much time in his female form on the road, when he was in Konoha and desired to be male, he could be. He could go days at a time before the curse was triggered. Often, he could even see what would trigger the curse - a bucket of water left on a window sill, or an approaching rain shower. Paradoxically, it seemed that the more he accepted the fact he couldn't control his own gender made it easier to remain male when needed.

Anko had bust a gut laughing the first time he went through menses when out on patrol. This was something he'd experienced before in his female body, but given how often he spent weeks as a female here, it was happening much more frequently than in his old life. After her laughing fit, though, Anko became very serious. They spent the better part of that patrol talking about the dangers of being a Kunoichi. Sexual violence was a favorite tool to use against both genders, but for obvious reasons was most frequently used against kunoichi.

In their line of work, rape was a fact of life. There multiple was of dealing with it. The best one was to never get caught. However, even the best kunoichi would eventually face an opponent that clearly outclassed her. At that point, a decision had to be made. Unlike a male ninja caught in a similar situation, death was not inevitable. Most ninja were still men, and men often thought with their dicks, even when they knew better. If you appeared harmless and helpless enough, and were pliable enough, then a smart kunoichi could survive. If the choice was death or sex, sex was the easy way out.

Anko explained that once you decided to live, then you had to decide how to play it. You could either be a willing participant, which greatly reduced the risk of permanent damage, or suffer. Anko was quite frank in that she fell into the first camp. The female body was a weapon and a tool, and used properly, could ensure you survived to fight another day. Just like every other kunoichi she knew, she'd been raped during the last major conflict. The bastard had paid, though, as he'd stopped thinking long enough for her to summon a highly poisonous viper. Any male stupid enough to rape a kunoichi deserved the death that inevitably found them. Some kunoichi actually preferred to use it as a tactic, knowing that they could take down a much stronger ninja through sex and guile than would be possible in a straight conflict.

Anko made it clear that Ranma could expect the same treatment if captured. Ranma shuddered at the thought. Anko seemed rather matter of fact about recounting the details of her experience and tips and tricks often used to survive such encounters. Ranma spent the rest of the mission highly disturbed, and the feeling never completely receded, even when back in Konoha.

For all the time they were spending tromping though the wilds, there was a lot of time to fill, and not all of that could be spent talking. They were almost always on the go, and so communication was limited to hand signs and other non-verbal means of communication. They learned to read each other's body language to a degree where whole conversations happened in the space of a few blinks and shrugs.

This ability to communicate became crucial to their continued survival, as it allowed them to predict the other's action and work as a team to counter threats. And they ran into a lot of threats over the course of several months, ranging from bandits, which were no problem, to missing nin, which always had the potential to end badly.

The first encounter they had with a missing nin very nearly ended badly due to Ranma's impulsiveness. Anko spotted him first, and after looking him up in her bingo book, decided it would be worth the effort to capture him. As a B rank missing nin, the bounty would be a nice boon, and the danger involved would make it worth the risk. Before she could formulate a plan, though, Ranma charged in and engaged him at hand to hand.

The missing nin really didn't stand a chance against Ranma in a straight up taijutsu fight. However, fights were rarely straight up in the world of shinobi. Ranma easily breached his defenses and buried a fist in the nin's stomach. Landing the blow, however, resulted in the nin exhaling a cloud of poison that would have caught him in the face had Anko not thrown a brace of kunai at him as soon as she realized what he was doing, triggering his instinct to dodge. He jumped back to avoid the projectile, which removed him from the danger zone.

One of the kunai embedded itself in the nin's temple, ending the fight, but Anko gave him shit for his hasty attack. Plus, the nin had been worth more alive than dead, so she was pissed at him for fucking up what could have been a relatively easy pay day. Ranma learned from that experience that Anko could hold a grudge, as she didn't let him forget his mistake for the rest of that three week mission.

Bandits were common. These did not present a challenge in terms of the actual conflict, but caused tension between the two of them. The first time Ranma ran across a group of bandits, he simply subdued the group and then prepared to send a message to the local law enforcement. Anko had other ideas, however. She calmly slit the throats of each of them, causing a furious row between her and Ranma. Ranma was livid that she had killed defenseless foes; she simply wiped the blood of her kunai and asked him what he thought the penalty for banditry was in Hi no Kuni.

The episode had left a very powerful impression on Ranma. He understood that sometimes, death was necessary. But he refused to be party to death if it was avoidable. He launched into an exhaustive study of non-lethal ways to permanently remove an opponent from a fight. Remembering the various times when he'd been incapacitated by Happosai, Cologne, and even Dr. Tofu, Ranma started experimenting with moxibustion and shiatsu techniques, so that the next time they came across a group of outlaws, he could prevent the senseless slaughter he'd witnessed.

Differences in opinions aside, the months spent roaming Hi no Kuni with Anko were generally happy. Ranma saw a lot of the country, and he also saw a lot of Anko. She had always been more forward than him, and privacy was a luxury on these sorts of missions, as they didn't have a three-man cell to afford a rotation of duties. While she bathed, he kept watch. When he shat, she kept guard. There were few secrets (in terms of bodily functions) and little personal space between them due to the forced close and continuous proximity.

Female nakedness was not a problem for Ranma. Hell, most of the time he was on these missions he had his own set of tits. His problem was that he was uncomfortable with sex, never really having had any sane advice or normal experiences. His sex life with Akane during their marriage had never really been discussed, and talking about it was discouraged. Thus, he was really unprepared to deal with the raw sexuality that Anko increasingly displayed around him. She'd been bad enough before they started these patrols. Keeping guard as she bathed was no problem. Keeping guard as she used bathing as an excuse to taunt him was something he really had no idea how to deal with.

While he might have been distracted the first few times he had to watch as Anko bathed, he forced himself to focus because if they were to be attacked, she would be at her most vulnerable. He tried to maintain his professionalism as best he could, but he couldn't help appreciate the show. He told himself that he wasn't like his perverted teacher Happosai, as he wasn't staring at her and giggling perversely. But that didn't mean he was above perverse thoughts.

Ranma was, after all a male in the prime of his life. Anko had a beautiful body and didn't have any of the hang ups that Ranma did, and she enjoyed having an audience and being appreciated. As a kunoichi, she was aware of how potent a weapon sex could be, and wasn't afraid of using it to her advantage. The smirk on her face refused to go away the first time she witnessed him adjusting after a particularly salacious bath in a stream. She teased and offered to help him with his problem, only to get her clothes thrown in her face and a gruff command to get dressed.

Ignoring her teasing only seemed to encourage her. In Konoha, there were other distractions and other people. Even though he was a hanger-on at her apartment, he had his own room and could shut the door. She had always ribbed him about how his comparative prudishness and being on the road and alone with her for weeks at a time gave her ample opportunity to cause him grief. When it was just the two of them, she had little else to distract her, and seemed only to exacerbate the problem.

The only saving grace was that any sexual frustration he might have felt from her constant teasing didn't linger long on the road. They needed to be sharp and focused and working as a team in order to survive. She might tease him when first setting out for a mission and when coming back after having completed a mission, but during the bulk of the mission it was pure professionalism. It was hard enough to stay sharp while setting a grueling pace and being distracted due to frustration, embarrassment, or libido was a strict no-no.

However, once they got back to civilization, she became hell bent on causing making up for lost time and causing him embarrassment. Partial or total nudity in her apartment became the costume de rigueur. She enjoyed using her looks as a weapon, loading even the most innocent of actions with innuendo. Asking her to back off only made it worse, as she got pleasure out of knowing the tactic worked. He could ignore her looks, but it was hard to ignore her antics.

As the weather got colder, she started turning up the heat. She went from just displaying her body to draping herself over his back as he cooked and nibbling on his ear. She would always back off as soon as he stated becoming aroused, a satisfied smirk on her face as he growled in frustration. In a fit of pique, he asked her why she was tormenting him like this. Her answer was pretty straight forward - she claimed she was a sadistic bitch and enjoyed watching him squirm. That, coupled with the fact that she hadn't been able to get laid in months since starting this shitty mission cycle had left her frustrated.

If she was going to be frustrated, then by god, she wanted to pass on the misery.

Winter arrived in full force. It had the makings of being the coldest season in living memory. Usually a fairly temperate place, the residents of Konoha shivered as a winter storm barreled through. It rarely snowed in the hidden village. However, as Ranma and Anko departed for another patrol, large, wet flakes of snow began falling headed out towards the border with Yu No Kuni. By the time they had been underway for several hours, the snow was starting to stick. By the second day of travel, the ground was covered in several inches of snow and it seemed unlikely to let up as they continued.

The snowfall presented a unique opportunity, as only elite ninjas had the chakra control and reserves to avoid leaving tracks in snow for a lengthy period of time. This was a double edged sword, because it made it harder to cover their passage as well. Maintaining enough chakra output to avoid compacting the snow was not at all like water walking or tree climbing; the surface tension of water was quite high, and with a thin enough layer of chakra, water could support massive amounts of weight. Not so with snow. The crystalline structure trapped so much air that it a hell of a lot of chakra to reinforce the snow underfoot to avoid leaving an imprint.

The snow stopped falling by the fourth day, but then another problem made itself apparent. The cold set in, making it impossible to sleep in bivouac sacs. They ended up forgoing sleep, staying on the move, to combat the cold, slowly becoming wearing out from running through snow. Well before they reached the border there were signs of human activity. Some could be ruled out, but the distinct tread of a ninja sandal on snow sent both of them in to high alert. There were no Konoha teams in the area.

Anko called a halt. Going in tired would be suicidal, as they had no idea what they would face. Deciding it was worth the risk, she looked around the area until she found a rock large enough to have stayed above the snow line. It was several hundred meters away. Channeling her chakra, she stepped on top of the snow, leaving no foot print as she made her way to the spot. Ranma was unable to perform the same feat; instead, he choose to attach himself to the side of the nearest tree, and like a sideways monkey, follow behind by leaping from trunk to trunk, trying his best to avoid sending showers of snow to the forest floor.

She found a rock sufficiently near a tree for Ranma to reach. Anko instructed him to lift it out of the snow while trying to disturbing the snow on top as little as possible. He did so, revealing a bare patch of earth where the rock had stood.

Anko made a complicated series of hand signs, and, placing her hand on the bare earth, concentrated on creating a hole that went straight down nearly three meters. At that point, the earth began to move sideways, creating a small underground chamber just big enough for two people. Anko jumped down, and Ranma followed, very carefully replacing the rock in its original position, sealing them in darkness.

This was a calculated risk. It would hide them from a casual sweep, but if they had been spotted they were sitting ducks. In addition, their foot prints would be visible, and anyone paying attention would see that the track suddenly stopped. A ninja would know right away that there were others in the area, and if they had hostile intentions, it wouldn't take long to find them. Anko lit a candle, and unsealing her sleeping gear, and shucked her wet clothes. Shivering and completely naked, she laid out her sleeping pad and unrolled her sleeping bag, crawling into it as fast as she could.

Ranma came down in time to see her crawl into her bag. Sitting up with the bag sipped up around her shoulders, she pulled a couple of ration bars out of her storage scroll and wolfed them down. As dry and as pasty as the things were, she was so hungry right now it didn't matter. She chased them with some water, then immediately zipped the bag up the rest of the way and lay down in her bag. Earth jutsu were far from her forte, and manipulating that much earth, on top of walking the snow, had damn near tapped her chakra reserves.

Anko watched as Ranma pulled his gear out of his own personal storage space. "I'll need about 12 solid hours of sleep to replenish my chakra reserves," she said.

Ranma nodded. "I'll keep the first watch."

Anko snorted. "Don't bother. Not much you can watch for down here, unless you know some way of feeling for vibrations through the earth. Get comfy."

Ranma did as instructed, rolling out a sleeping pad and his own bag. The rustle her bag created from her shivers was readily apparent. He glanced over at her. "You gonna be okay?" Ranma knew from experience that hypothermia could lay low even the toughest martial artists.

"Just cold."

Ranma sighed. "You'd be warmer if you were wearing clothes, you know."

"Or we could zip our bags together and you could warm me up."

Ranma just rolled his eyes. "Night, Anko." With that, he blew out the candle, plunging them into darkness. Judging from her breathing, she fell asleep within a few breaths. Ranma, however, simply stared into the darkness for a while, unable to go to sleep. Eventually, he was able to slow his breathing down and was finally able to drift off.

The sound of his sleeping bag zipper being opened snapped him to wakefulness. The top of his bag was thrown back, and Anko crawled into his bag with him.

"Anko?"

"I'm cold," she said. She arranged her bag on top of his, and lying down next to him, zipped the bag up. It was a very tight fit. To make room, he rolled onto his right side and scooted to the very edge of the bag so that his back was to the seam. She turned away from him so she could be spooned and reached backwards, grabbing his left arm and pulling it across her chest for additional warmth.

Ranma gulped. "Anko?" He whispered. He got a mouthful of hair for his efforts and no answer to his as she was already asleep again. Ranma remained very still, trying very hard to ignore the feeling of her ass pressing into his groin or the sensation of his arm mashed against her very generous chest.

This wasn't her normal tease, which made it even more frustrating than normal. It had been a while since Ranma had been in a position this intimate with a female, and the vulnerability and implied trust of Anko's action, regardless to whether or not it was intended this way, left him highly aroused. Sheer willpower alone was the only thing preventing feelings from manifesting.

Ranma closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Needless to say, it was a long time before he drifted off back to sleep.

For all the effort he had made not to embarrass himself when Anko crawled into his bag, the evidence of his arousal was firmly pressed into her backside when he woke up in the morning. Based off the rhythm of Anko's breathing, was awake and very much aware of it. She made no move to extricate herself from his hold for few minutes.

Finally, she said. "I've got to piss."

With that, she unzipped the bag, and sitting up, wormed out of his embrace. He heard her crawling to the edge of the room she had created and then he heard the sound of rushing water, followed quickly by the pungent smell of urine.

"You'd better not be pissing on my bag." He said.

"If it gets wet, we can share mine." She said. He heard her approach, followed by the sound of fabric rustling.

Ranma dug around in his hidden storage space for a candle. By the time he got it lit, Anko was already dressed and tugging on her boots. Ranma was surprised that Anko owned something other than fishnet and trench coats. She was wearing what looked to be a perfectly sensible pair of wool pants and a tight fitting white sweater. She looked over at him as she squatted to lace up her boot and raised an eyebrow.

"You going to get ready, or what?"

Ranma sprang out of his bag. His gear was packaged and stored in a matter of moments. There was none of the teasing he expected. Anko said nothing further about the situation. By the time they crawled out of the space they were in, he was more confused than ever.

They moved at a significantly slower pace than before. Another layer of snow had fallen. As they got closer to the border, Anko's anxiety levels went up. Signs of activity increased, all leading out of Hi no Kuni and into the land of Hot Springs. Some group had been on the Konoha side before the snow had fallen last night and had left only this morning. They retraced the footsteps as far as they could into Konoha territory, arriving eventually at a rudimentary shelter made of pine branches. Checking carefully for traps and clues as to the groups purpose, they were able to establish, based on the tracks, that it was a group of four people, most likely a jonin with his team of genin.

Either he was a ballsy bastard or an idiot. Since they were already over the border and safe, Anko made a careful note of what they found and moved on, looking for additional evidence of activity. The next two weeks were spent moving at a snail's pace, looking for other signs of incursions. It was slow and cold going. Anko couldn't afford the chakra to spare to make another shelter like the first night. Instead, they took turns sleeping in the trees, cocooned in both bags while the other kept watch. They were constantly struggling to stay warm. Ration bars might have provided calories, but being exposed to the elements for days on end was brutal.

Towards the end of the mission, Ranma spotted a team of ninja standing just across the border. Given that all members were in sight and they were well back from the demarcation line, it was clear that they were not trying to be stealthy. Anko and Ranma cautiously stood up, making themselves visible. The jonin gave them a jaunty wave, then turned with his team and headed deeper into their own territory. Anko flipped him the bird, pissed that she'd had to spend the last two weeks freezing her ass off for some shitty genin training mission.

No matter how well trained they were and regardless of the level of physical fitness, the body can only handle sleep deprivation for so long before the mind begins to crumble. When the pair trooped back to Konoha to take yet another mission, the Hokage flat out refused to authorize it, forcing them on mandatory leave status for a period of not less than three weeks. They looked at each other for a while, failing to comprehend, and in essence driving home the point with a sharpened kunai.

The Hokage stated that teams needed the experience, and having one of his best kunoichi run herself into the ground was definitely not in the best interest of the village. During the mandatory leave, they were not permitted outside of Konoha unless it was to train, and any training was to be kept to an absolute minimum in order to give their bodies' time to readjust to a normal schedule. Operating almost completely on autopilot at the point due to the extended sleep deprivation and cold, they both stumbled into the bathroom, stripped, took the hottest shower they could handle, scrubbed the accumulated filth off their bodies, and staggered to the nearest soft surface in Anko's apartment and collapsed in a tangled heap of limbs.

Ranma always found that waking up after crashing from extensive sleep deprivation happened in stages. The body and mind totally shut down for a long period, and when it gradually started to recover, the body was often not in sync with the mind. It was nearly impossible to string it together coherent thought until fully awake, and even that wasn't guaranteed. Instead, he gradually became aware of individual stimulus, like that it was too hot or too cold, or that something was touching his foot. Usually, his body responded automatically to individual events in order to continue sleeping and avoid having to wake up fully.

He noticed that his legs were hot and sweaty, and tried to kick of the covers to cool down. Unfortunately, something was pinning his legs. His right arm felt numb, though his chest felt warm and heavy. He tried to move his arm but quickly encountered resistance.

"Shhh..."

Ranma groggily opened his eyes and tried to focus as he looked over to his right. Anko's head was resting on his right shoulder, her purple hair splayed out across his pectoral muscles. She had wrapped her right arm around his stomach and her right leg was intertwined with his. Her breasts were pressed into his ribs, and from the steady rise and fall of her breathing she was deep asleep.

His brain was still too fried to really process what was happening. Too tired to care at this point, he drifted back to deep sleep.

He woke up some time later, feeling much more with it. Judging by the graininess in his eyeballs and his parched mouth, he'd been asleep for a long time. A glance at the clock by the bed on his left showed it was early in the morning. It was hard to remember when they arrived, but it had been early morning when they had collapsed in bed, meaning they had been asleep for nearly twenty hours.

Ranma felt like he was forgetting something very important. He was instantly reminded what it was when he felt the hand on his chest shift lower to rest on his stomach. He looked to his right to see Anko fully awake and staring up at him from where she was resting on his shoulder. Her expression was unreadable and failed to give the slightest clue as to what she might be thinking.

The two of them stared at each other for a while until Anko lifted the hand on his stomach and gently slid it between his cheek and the pillow, palm up so that it rested on the side of his face. She pushed slightly, forcing him to face the ceiling. She then dragged finger tips across his eyelids, closing them. With that, she replaced her hand on his stomach and let out a breath of air.

He cleared his throat to speak, but before he could do so her hand moved, and she placed a finger on his lips. Not sure what was going on, Ranma relaxed, trying not to tense from her strange behavior. It was apparently the right thing to do, because as he relaxed and slowed his breathing, he could feel Anko do the same. He wasn't sure how long they lay there together. It could have been a few minutes, or it could have been hours. Ranma was floating in a semi-aware state, concentrating only on breathing and the feeling of Anko's body pressed against his.

Eventually, Anko shifted, and rolling over, she sat up and swung her legs off the bed. Ranma opened his eyes and watched her as she sat up and stretched, completely unashamed of her nakedness. The bed rolled as she stood up and walked into the bathroom to take care of her business. He heard the toilet flush followed by the sounds of the sink being turned on. Then, much to his surprise, she came back to bed and resumed her former position holding on to his side.

=-=-= (Begin lemon)

She anticipated his questions, though, and repeated her earlier action, placing a finger on his lips to silence him. She again closed his eyes with her finger tips and pointed his face to the ceiling. This time, however, rather than just placing her hand on his stomach, she traced his jaw with a finger until she reached his chin, then ran her finger tips down his throat until reaching his collar bone.

Ranma tensed and inhaled sharply as she did this. She paused until she felt him relax slightly. Then, using just a single nail, she traced up the side of his neck until she reached the base of his ear, and repeated the sequence, from jaw to chin to ear, several times. Each time she did this, Ranma tensed. The sensations seemed to be running from his face straight to his groin. Even with his prodigious self-control, there was a limit to what he could endure.

She seemed to sense this, and moving languidly, would wait for him to calm down before repeating her ministrations. The one time he tried to move his right arm she instantly stopped and tensed, her body coiled as if to move quickly. He let his arm drop back down to the mattress, and after a few moments, she relaxed again and resumed her movements.

Her fingers traced their path down his throat again, just barely grazing the skin. Rather than retracing her way up his neck, though, her fingertips drifted down his left collar bone until they reached his shoulder. From there, they hand moved slowly down the outer edge of his pectoral muscle, tracing the outline of his chest until her fingers reached the point where his clavicles met.

At this point there was no hiding his arousal. He was as aroused as he could remember being, and his manhood pulsed in time with his heartbeat. Anko repeated the process multiple times, each time keeping the same maddeningly slow pace. As she traced her way along the outside of his chest again, he felt her right hand graze his right nipple at the same time her mouth gently closed around his left.

He hissed and arched his back. She stopped at this, and again, waited until he relaxed back down onto the mattress before she continued. The continued to caress his right nipple with her fingertips as she gently licked his left. Her hand drifted from his chest to this stomach, where she traced the lines of his abdominal muscles to his obliques. Her finger tips continued downward, until they rested under his pulsing member. Moving her hand down his right thigh until she reached his knee, she drew a single finger up his inner thigh, stopping just before she reached his scrotum.

Ranma took a long breath. Her hand had stopped its motion, but her finger gently traced circles on the skin of his inner thigh, just a hair's breadth from touching him. Instead of doing so, however, her finger jumped across to his left thigh, and she repeated the process on the other side, having to put more of her body weight on his chest to reach his knee. This had the added effect of mashing her chest even more against his ribs as she had to extend her hand to do so, taking great care to ensure her arm didn't accidentally touch his manhood.

As she started moving her fingernail up his left thigh, she bit his nipple and chuckled darkly as he gasped. Remaining passive was becoming increasingly difficult, but if he tensed at all she stopped. Stopping was not what he wanted right now. His loins were aching for release, and if she wanted him to play along he was more than willing at this point.

Finally, after what seemed an infinity of torture, her finger gently traced the length of the underside of his shaft. He couldn't restrain the groan that escaped his lips at this point. Her solitary finger continued its movements for a while until she wrapped her entire hand around his length. Slowly, she started moving her hand along his shaft, maintaining the same agonizing slowness as her grip became slightly harder.

He felt her body shift as she continue her hand motions but began to kiss her way down his ribs to his stomach, and then finally to the head of his penis. The first contact of her lips made him tremble. She teased him relentlessly with her hand and tongue for a good while before finally taking him into her mouth.

The only reason he didn't instantly explode was his ironclad physical control. Still, it was a very close thing, as his member started pulsing wildly as he clamped down to prevent an accident. Anko, for her part, stopped what she was doing, only resuming only when Ranma's breathing was under control.

Once it was, she resumed, taking his length once more into her mouth, sliding down his shaft a centimeter at a time, only to retreat and start once again, taking a bit of him into her mouth with each repetition. This continued until her lips met the fingers wrapped around the bottom of his shaft. At this point, she increased her tempo.

Ranma couldn't help it. He gasped out her name and his control shattered. His orgasm left him seeing stars and panting heavily. Anko swallowed his load, and by the time he had recovered, had returned to where she had started, her head on his right shoulder, though her hand remained wrapped around his shaft. He hardened almost instantly again, to which he felt more than heard Anko's appreciative murmur.

He lifted his right arm. Anko tensed. Rather than return it to the mattress, however, he moved it to her rear, grabbing a handful of her ass and squeezing. He felt her arch her back slightly as she pressed her ass into his hand. He continued this, caressing each side. The angle was difficult, however. Using his strength, he pulled her on top of him so that she was flush against his chest, her nose in the crook of his neck. She had let go of his length, as it was now trapped between them, pressing into her stomach. She traced the line of his jaw with her nose, but otherwise was still.

He slid his hands down her back to her ass, then down the back of her thighs, pulling her legs apart until they swung to either side of his body. He alternated between massaging her ass with his hands and running his hands down her thighs. There were some benefits to having studied under the greatest pervert on earth. As he pulled his hand back up her thigh, he took the time to activate pressure points that would stimulate desire and increase enjoyment. His hand moved up her thigh to her hip, trailing up the side of her ribs to feather across the side of her breast and down her spine, subtly touching pressure points as he worked his hands back down to her ass.

Just as she had teased him, he teased her. He worked his way towards her sex but never touched it. Her breathing had sped up considerably. He concentrated on caressing her back, hips, and thighs with his left hand as his right hand slowly teased her inner thighs on both sides of her sex. When he finally parted her folds and touched her clitoris with his finger, she practically mewled.

She had her first orgasm within a few seconds as he stimulated her clit with his finger tip. He paused as she convulsed, maintaining pressure to increase sensation. He gave her time to recover before picking up where he left off, spreading her folds with his index and ring finger and softly tracing the length of her slit with the finger tip of his middle finger. He moved his finger up and down, and when he came to her clitoris circled it with his fingertip before repeating.

He continued this for some time. She was gasping into the crook of his neck. His left hand joined his right, moving towards her clit as he slid two fingers from his right hand into her very wet sex. He felt her clamp around his fingers as she orgasmed again. When she stopped twitching, he continued stimulating her with his left hand as he slowly fingered her with his middle and ring fingers of his right hand.

She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed her upper body off of his as she pulled her lower body away from his hands, running her sex against the his length beneath her. She was glorious in her nakedness, a light sheen of perspiration covering her chest as she ground into him. He hands resting on her hips, he reached up to cup her breasts. Instead of allowing him access, however, she grabbed his hands and pinned them to the mattress above his head, forcing her body off of his. He twitched with the sudden loss of her wetness against his length. Holding both of his arms in one hand, she reached down, and placed his length at the entrance to her sex.

For the first time since this had started, she looked at him. Her face was hovering just above his as they made eye contact. Her eyes never left his as she shifted, and still pinning his hands, slowly began to sit back on his length. They both gasped as he entered her. She took her time working her way down his length, but once he was fully buried in her she let go of his hands, and placing hers on his chest, sat up fully and slowly began to move up and down on him, at in an unhurried rhythm.

Not changing her pace in the slightest, she released his hands and placed them on her chest, then leaned forward place her forehead on his. Concentrating on caressing her breasts, he used the change in leverage to begin thrusting into her, maintaining the same rhythm she had been using earlier. Each thrust elicited a small gasp from her as she met his thrusts, grinding her hips into his.

She ran her hands through his hair as they slowly began to speed up. Eventually, Ranma took advantage of his strength to flip them over so that she was under him. It was difficult to maintain their earlier pace, as the Ranma could feel the need to release building with each thrust. He used the bones of his pubis to put extra pressure on her clit, causing her to gasp each time he thrust fully into her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in and speeding up the pace. The need for release drove them both on, until he was pounding into her as fast and as hard as he could. She came in a matter of moments, and sensation of her muscles clenching drove him over the edge.

As they came together, Anko grabbed the hair on the side of his head and pulled him in for a scorching hot kiss as he pumped his seed into her. She aggressively attacked his mouth, and he responded in kind, their tongues warring with each other as they kissed.

(end lemon)

The kissing soon led to another session. Seeming eager to make up for lost time, Anko was downright aggressive in her pursuits. The only thing Ranma wasn't allowed to do was speak, as every time he tried to say something he was silenced. By the time they both finally collapsed on the bed, they were both covered in sweat and bodily fluids, exhausted and satiated. Anko curled up next to his side, tracing circles on his chest with her finger until they both fell asleep.

He was awakened some time later by an insistent pounding on the door. He lay still, hoping it would eventually go away, but it became clear after about fifteen minutes that whoever was at the door was determined to get an answer. Ranma stirred, but he did so reluctantly. He wanted to go back to sleep and bask in the warmth of the bed, but Anko pushed him out of the bed with a mumbled command to go answer the door. Brain not quite firing on all cylinders yet, he rolled out of bed and stood shakily, looking around the room for something to wear. Eventually he gave up, staggered into his room and put on a pair of pants. The knocking continued the whole while, so he shuffled to the front door and ripped it open with a snarled, "What?!"

If the short blond kid in a horrendous orange jumpsuit was surprised by his outburst, he didn't show it. Instead, the kid was practically quivering at the front door, blue eyes shining and a huge smile on his face.

"Are you Ranma?" the kid yelled.

Ranma just stared at the kid dumbly.

The kid wasn't fazed, though. "You're probably stunned by my awesome uniform. I can tell. I get that look a lot from other ninja." He brandished his forehead protector. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage."

Ranma continued to stare, blinking. "Kid, you've got the worst timing in the world. Go away." He started to close the door, only to have the kid jam it with his foot, preventing it from closing.

This time the kid seemed to have none of the brash confidence from before. The kid was nervously licking his lips. "I'm like you." He finally said.

"Huh?"

Naruto pointed to his belly. "I'm like you. I'm a jinchuuriki."

Ranma just stared at the kid, not quite understanding what was going on. Finally, it registered. "Well, shit." Ranma sighed.

"Can I come on in?"

Ranma stared down at the blond, pondering the request. Finally, he gave up. "Sure, I guess."

"Really?"

"No. I was jokin'." The kid's face fell, and he started to turn away. With a huff, Ranma grabbed him by the back of his jumpsuit and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. The kid struggled mightily, but Ranma just dumped him on the couch before walking back towards the bed room, but not before admonishing the blond to sit there and shut up. Back in the bed room, Anko was still asleep. Ranma stared down at her form for a bit before sighing, and very carefully pulled the sheets over her exposed leg before leaving the bed room and closing the door behind him.

He pulled up a chair and sat down across from the blond kid seated on the couch. "Can you keep your voice down? Anko's still asleep."

"Who's Anko?"

"She's my..." Ranma trailed off. What was she, exactly? She was technically his teacher here, but she'd stopped being that a long time ago. She wasn't his student, either, even though he'd taught her a lot about taijutsu. And after waking up together this morning, he was even less sure than before about their status. Eventually he decided to go with what he knew. "She's the jonin assigned to me."

Naruto nodded in understanding, though he was fidgeting something fierce.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

Naruto made a face. "No, I mean, a real question."

Ranma nodded.

"What was it like for you growing up?"

At some point during their conversation, Ranma heard the shower in the bedroom turn on. When she finally came out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of sweats and a baggy sweater, the two were still talking.

"Damn, kid. You suck." Ranma didn't move his feet at all; instead, he simply shifted his weight slightly to cause Naruto to miss the combo he was trying to hit him with and land face first on the ground.

"You take that back!" He leapt to his feet and tried to attack again, missing once more as Ranma swayed to the side, his feet never moving from their position.

"Make me." The taunt had the desired effect, as Naruto rushed at him with a cry of rage, trying to land a haymaker that left him horribly over-extended. Ranma grabbed his arm, and with a twist flipped the blond on his back, leaving him stunned for only a second before he kipped up and back on to his feet, lashing out with a backwards kick. Ranma again grabbed the limb, and applying some torque, caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

And so it continued for the better part of an hour. During that time, Ranma never moved from his original position, and even though Naruto had boundless energy, he wasn't accomplishing much except getting scuffed up and dirty. Ranma noted that the kid was highly inventive in his attacks and adapted quickly to the situation, but the underlying mechanics of his form were just so horrible that until that was fixed, there was little that could be done to make him better. Ranma held up a hand to forestall the next charge. Naruto stopped in mid-step, blinking at him. "What, had enough already?" he asked.

Ranma shook his head. "No, but this isn't really productive. Take a seat."

Ranma sat on the ground, legs folded cross-legged under his body. "Why are you getting thrown all over the place?" He asked.

Naruto frowned. "Because you're better than I am?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nope. The real answer is that your taijutsu form sucks, which throws your balance off, and leaves you over-extended. You need to work on that."

Naruto pouted. "Look, I know I'm not the best, but nobody will teach me because of what I am. Hell, my own sensei just ignores me most of the time. How am I supposed to get better?"

The kid had a point. If he got half as much hostility directed towards him as Ranma experienced once he'd been labeled a jinchuuriki, then the fact the kid was even this good was a testament to his drive to make people notice him.

"Look, kid. You've got the instincts necessary and you're creative and adaptable. You can't teach that. Your form we can work on. I'm gonna to be on a lot of missions after next week, but while I'm around I'll help you out a bit, okay?"

He was expecting some reaction, but the crushing hug from the kid caught him off-guard. He worked with him for another hour or so on some basic stances, postures and walked him through an Anything Goes kata to improve his balance, leaving him with an admonition to work hard on those until the next time he saw him.

Ranma left the training ground in a melancholy mood. Partly because looking at Naruto was like looking at a reflection of his younger self. Naruto so desperately craved affection that it would be easy to take advantage of him, the same way Ranma had been taken advantage of during the whole fiasco in Nerima, which led to a failed marriage and failed friendships. He recognized that he was not the right person to fix the underlying problems, but at least he could help the kid get better at fighting.

And if the kid wanted to be Hokage, more power to him. Ranma was perfectly happy to let someone else have that responsibility.

The other reason he was melancholy was Anko. Since waking up together a few weeks ago, she'd been... very distant. If fact, he'd not seen her almost at all, as she'd practically vanished. When he did see her, it was often only in passing - she'd be on her way out as he was coming back, or vice versa. Gone was the sexy tease that'd been tormenting him. She refused to meet his eyes, and she dodge out of his reach if he attempted to touch her.

Frustrated, he'd asked if he'd done something wrong. She assured him that he'd not. Regardless, they'd been walking on eggshells around each other since. He'd not been invited back into her bed, and she made numerous excuses to avoid being in the same room with him. Since he was still restricted to the village due to the mandatory leave and Anko was avoiding him, he'd decided it would be a better use of his time if worked with Naruto.

He looked up at the sound of a hawk's cry. Wonder what the old man wanted this time?

Ranma was not surprised to find Anko had been summoned to the tower as well. When he came into the room, she steadfastly refused to look at him beyond when he initially entered, keeping her eyes trained instead on the Hokage, who was busy ignoring the two of them as he read a pair of documents on his desk. They stood patiently, waiting to be acknowledged. Finally, the old man finished reading both, and with a flourish, stamped the two documents before looking up.

"So I see you've met Naruto," he stated. "Has he told you about his condition?"

Ranma nodded.

"What do you think about him?" asked Sarutobi.

Ranma shrugged. "He's a good kid, and he's got potential, but he needs some serious help if he really wants to get better."

The Hokage chuckled. "Yes, that's probably true. Except he manages to surprise me time and again. He is Konoha's number one most surprising ninja, after all. His education has been sabotaged by those who cannot differentiate their hatred from the nine-tails and the container in which it is housed. I fear that he has a difficult path before him until he earns the acceptance of the community. He is in desperate need of a few friends who will not judge him because of circumstances beyond his control. I imagine you will face many of the same challenges."

Ranma grimaced in response, choosing not to say anything. Amused by his restraint, the Hokage picked up the two documents he'd stamped earlier and held them out across his desk to the two before him. "Here," he said. "You'll want to hold on to these."

Curious, Anko stepped forward and grabbed them, scanning them briefly before looking up in surprise. "Are you sure?"

The Hokage nodded. "Absolutely."

Curious, Ranma stepped forward and looked over her shoulder, trying to read the documents she was holding. Unable to do so, he reached around and snagged one, catching his name in the title but not really understanding what it was about. "What's this?"

"Certification of promotions. Congratulations Chunin Saotome Ranma and Jonin Mitarashi Anko." He pulled a flak jacket out from behind his desk and tossed it to Ranma. The Hokage sat back, and with a smirk stuck his pipe into his mouth.

Ranma eyed the jacket curiously, while Anko flushed. "Thank you very much, Hokage-sama."

Pulling his pipe out of his mouth, he pointed the stem at Anko. "Don't think I've done you any favors. Anko, now that you've completed the promotion conditions, I'm going to be sending you on the worst missions I can think of." The pipe stem swung around to point at Ranma. "As for you Ranma, I've got something else in mind now that you've got the rank to back it up."

Ranma cocked an eyebrow at that statement, but said nothing.

"It is going to be very thankless and dangerous work, but I can't think of a person more suited to accomplishing the mission. If you are successful, it can be quite lucrative and will help solidify your reputation as elite ninja amongst the rank and file. I have full confidence that you will be successful, provided you manage to stay alive."

Sarutobi pointed once again at Anko. "Once your mandatory leave expires I'd like you to report to Morino."

She nodded, having expected that.

"Ranma, I'd like you to report to the ANBU, please." He handed Ranma a slip of paper. "Memorize the location and name on that paper and then burn it. When you see the ANBU captain Tenzo, ask him for the nin list. Dismissed."

Ranma was simply puzzled, but judging by the curse the words elicited from Anko, this probably wasn't a good thing.

Anko was still swearing under her breath as they were dismissed from the office. Between all the curses, he caught the words "hunter-nin," though that was frequently modified with more descriptive and colorful adjectives of an explicit nature. She stomped down the stairs of the tower, promotion certificate clutched tightly in her hand the whole time, as if she was thinking of ripping it up.

Ranma didn't put on his new vest as he left the building, choosing instead to tuck it into his hidden weapons space. When Anko saw that he stashed it away, she stopped swearing long enough to insist that he wear it, arguing that it was a symbol that Konoha ninja would instantly recognize. If he wanted to gain the trust of their fellow ninja, he needed to wear it for a little bit, until word got out. After that, he could put it away if he so desired.

Seeing the wisdom of her words, he pulled it out again and put it on. "Yeah, I can tell you right now I won't be wearing this long." He flexed his back muscles and popped several stitches on the seam near his shoulders.

"You don't have to. Just wear it for the next week or so around town until we leave for a mission."

"Finally talking to me now?" He asked.

Anko stiffened.

"Care to explain to me what's got your panties in a twist? If there's something I've done to make you avoid me, tell me what it is so I can fix it."

"You can't fix this one, Ranma." Anko looked away. Her shoulders were slumped as she walked towards her new assignment. "Since we're no longer a team, you might want to start looking for a place to live."

"Wait - what?"

Anko took a deep breath. "I said that you might..."

Ranma interrupted her by grabbing her elbow. He batted away the kunai that followed and the knee strike after that, spinning her around and pushing her against the side of the tower to rob her of further leverage. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Anko grunted. "You're hurting me."

Ranma quickly muttered an apology and let her go, taking a step back. She took a few moments to adjust her clothing and regain her composure. When she looked up at him again, her voice was thick with emotion. "For what it's worth, I enjoyed our time together. I won't forget it. But now..." She reached up and cupped his cheek. "Do me a favor and stay alive, okay? Let me know where you end up. Maybe we'll see each other sometime." With that, she stood on her tippy toes, and placing a chaste kiss on his lips, and dropped her hand.

"Is that it? You are just going to walk away from this? From me? I don't know what it is exactly we have, but I'm not ready for it end."

Anko smiled sadly. "Take care, Ranma." With that, she walked past him to disappear into the crowd.

Ranma simply stared after her as she walked away, completely unable to comprehend what was going on. Eventually, he began to walk around Konoha in a daze. Except for the first month he'd spent in the forest when he arrived her, he'd spent practically every day for the last eight or so months with Anko. He'd never been so suddenly cast aside in his life, and he was at a complete loss in how he was supposed to deal with it.

For the first time in his life, Ranma was able to feel sympathy with his previous fiancées. Was this how Ukyou had felt when she had been abandoned? It all seemed so senseless and incomprehensible. His feet eventually brought him back to the apartment he'd shared with her. She wasn't there, of course. He robotically packed up his gear, and taking a final look around the room, left his keys on the counter as he walked out the door.

He didn't see Anko again, even though he did look for her. The emptiness he felt was gradually filled with dealing with the practicalities of life, but never receded fully. He was able to find an apartment with the help of the Hokage. By the time his leave expired, he was more than ready to throw himself into his training and his new job, if only to try to fill the sense of emptiness that lingered in his gut.

The Hokage was right in that he did Ranma no favors with his promotion. When he reported to his supervisor, he was given a new wardrobe, a bone-white cat mask, and welcomed into the ranks of the Hunter-nin. Ironic or not, Ranma became the new Neko, and his job was to go out and track down criminals and missing ninja and either capture or kill them.

The problem was that ninja good enough to stay alive without a village or comrades to support them were incredibly skilled and dangerous. The very first mission he took almost turned into his last, as the nin had laid a sophisticated trap using explosive notes and shrapnel fragments. He took a piece of shrapnel in to the gut and very nearly died from blood loss before he got back to Konoha with his quarry.

He was successful in returning the nin alive to Konoha, but the reward was nearly a week in the hospital when he got back without visitors. With the sole exception of Inoichi, who was visiting to continue their sessions, Ranma spent the week alone, stewing in his own misery. If Inoichi knew anything about the situation with Anko, he wisely chose not to say anything about it. When Ranma returned to active duty, he was commended by his supervisor for his ability to capture the nin alive, but somehow the praise felt hollow.

When he was alone, he was often surprised at how angry he felt at Anko, even months later. Rather than allow that anger to fester, Ranma channeled his emotions into training till he was exhausted, preferring to feel wrung out rather than feeling bitter. He took more missions and made fewer mistakes. His meetings with Inoichi became more frequent. His fear of cats diminished, but at the same time he lost the ability to use the neko-ken abilities. He wasn't bothered by this in the least, finally glad to be free of one his greatest weaknesses. He'd never like cats, but at least he could refrain from screeching like a little girl when he saw one now.

Unfortunately for Ranma, his job placed him frequently in kill or be killed situations. The act of killing was abhorrent, and yet too frequently he was forced to do so to avoid dying in turn. He needed a greater arsenal of weapons both for offense and defense. He'd yet to find a ninja beyond Might Guy that could go toe to toe with him in a spar. However, getting close was a problem, as high powered ninja tended to spam destructive techniques rather than rely on skill or training. A lucky shot still counted, and he refused to get taken down by someone less skillful than he was.

This spurred him into accelerating his ki manipulation training. His abilities progressed in leaps and bounds as he channeled his lingering anger at Anko and his guilt at killing into wreaking havoc on the training grounds. He'd never use ninjutsu, but he came up with some pretty acceptable substitutes. Using the baksai tenketsu, he figured out how to make the ground explode not where he touched the ground, but at any point he desired up to 50 meters away.

His ability to use vacuum blades expanded dramatically, as did his ability to manipulate hot and cold ki. Water and lightning remained out of his reach, but he continued to experiment. His life revolved around training, missions, sessions with Inoichi, and trying to forget Anko. He didn't like using his new techniques, though; they were decidedly more lethal than his previous variants. The first time he used his improved baksai tenketsu technique, he ended up shredding the missing-nin he was following into a barely recognizable pulp, causing him to lose his lunch.

Even one avoidable death was one too many. The guilt at causing the death of yet another person drove him to perfect the moxibustion techniques. He was able, after months of experimenting, to finally recreate Happosai's Ultimate Moxibustion technique. It worked just as well on ninja as it had on him. By blocking the flow of ki in the body's pathways, it completely disrupted the use of ninjutsu and robbed the target of strength. Soon, he was one of the best hunters in the force, as he made full use of his abilities to take down nin before they knew he was there. Not only was he able to take them down, he was able to bring them back alive, an infinitely harder proposition.

The jobs often kept him out of Konoha for weeks or longer, and took him beyond Hi no Kuni's borders into neighboring states in pursuit of his prey. He saw a lot of the other countries, and realized that for all its faults, Konoha represented the closest thing to the democracy he grew up under than any other nation he visited. Some were absolute military dictatorships, and the life of everyone under these tyrants was harsh. As his knowledge of the world grew, so did his respect for what Konoha, and by extension, Hi no Kuni, grow.

Anko's absence remained a sore point for him. He never saw her. He asked around, but the ninja that would talk to him simply shrugged and stated they had no clue where she was. He didn't understand what he'd done, but he promised himself he'd get an explanation the next time he saw her.

Naruto was a foil that kept him from falling into Ryoga-esque depression. The kid was a bundle of optimism, and his cheer was infectious. When not out on a mission, Ranma would stop by to check up on the kid and help him with his forms. Naruto, in turn, introduced him to his network of friends - Ayame and old man Teuchi at Ichiraku's, Iruka, whom he'd previously met, and his teacher, Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't care about much, content mostly to read his porn and ignore the world around him. He did thank Ranma for his help in getting Naruto's taijutsu up to snuff, though. The blond jinchuuriki had improved dramatically under Ranma's tutelage, but given how infrequently they saw each other, he didn't have the time to make him much more than proficient in basic forms. That didn't matter, though, as every time he saw Ranma, the blond haired kid would crash into him at full speed and squeeze him in hug that made his bones creak. If he was this strong at 11, he'd be a serious powerhouse one day.

Eventually, word circulated that out that Neko was a bad-ass mother fucker. Even though the masks were supposed to ensure anonymity, Ranma was marked pretty quickly. The leak had to have come from the top, given that there were no repercussions for his identity being made. This turned out to be a positive thing, though, because by the time he'd been a hunter for four months, he'd become a near legend for his ability to capture even the most tenacious missing-nin alive. Nothing increased respect like dragging in a B or A ranked nin who'd been on the run for a decade. Not only did he bring them in, he brought them in broken, willing to submit to whatever fate awaited them after the Hokage's judgment. Ranma's moxibustion technique remained a secret, and a terrifying one at that. Nothing was more terrifying to a ninja than to be inexplicably robbed of their much vaunted strength and techniques.

The spectacle of him marching in a formerly proud nin to the Hokage's tower for judgment became a regular sight. Older ninja, who formerly regarded him with disinterest, were eyeing him carefully and giving him nods of respect. Young upstarts started to see him as a challenge, and he was frequently asked to participate in "friendly spars." He had little patience for this now, as most of them had more pride than sense, and little of value that he could learn from such spars. Instead, he crushed his opponents, which seemed to increase his reputation even further.

Civilians by and large still gave him a wide berth, but the jacket had an effect on them, too. It did much to dull the direct hostility he had been subjected to before. Combined with his growing reputation, merchants were much more likely to be discrete in their displeasure, as they feared repercussions by the authorities. Even though he might not ever call the Hokage his friend, he respected the old man's crafty manipulation. He reminded him of a more ruthless version of Cologne, which he could respect.

Another interesting shift happened with the kunoichi of the village. A few of them started to express an interest. Ranma had initially fended them off, and it took him a while to realize that he was doing it due to his own background and the fact that he was still hoping to run into Anko. Eventually, he began to give in, accepting one of the propositions that came his way from the ladies during a particular bout of self-pity.

The sex was good, of course - kunoichi were professionals. Given his own unique gender perspective, he had very special insights into the female body. The physical release these encounters gave didn't seem to help fill the emptiness he felt nor stave off the loneliness he was experiencing. Regardless, the first kunoichi must have talked, and just as his reputation for his abilities as ninja grew, so too did his reputation for his other abilities. Soon he had a steady stream of willing women showing up at his door, often to the displeasure of some of their more regular partners. Few would willingly confront him, and he made it a point to not sleep with anyone that was in a relationship.

Nearly a year and a half after he first arrived in this strange world, the Hokage called for an assembly of all his forces in order to make an announcement. The ninja milled about as they waited for the Hokage's proclamation. Ranma scanned the crowd carefully, and eventually caught sight of a mop of purple hair leaning against a door frame on the other side of the hall. He'd not seen Anko in over six months, and the sight of her hair was enough to make his breath hitch.

Before he could make his way over, however, the Hokage entered and called them all to attention. He announced that the chunin exams would be coming to Konoha soon, and assignments for the exam would be given out soon. Ranma used the murmuring of the other ninja about the exams as cover, subtly working his way through the crowd over towards where she stood.

After not having seen her in such a long time, he drank in the sight of her as he moved closer. He barely paid attention to the unfolding drama of which genin teams were being nominated for the exam. He heard Naruto's name mentioned and wished the kid luck. Even though the kid was starting to show some promise, it would be a while before he was a soldier, never mind Hokage.

At a certain point, Anko noticed him moving through the crowd. She tensed as he drew near, a frown clearly evident on her face. He didn't invade her personal space, concentrating rather on trying to read her body language. It was difficult, as she was wearing her typical trench coat. Anko, for her part, refused to look in his direction, so it was difficult to read her face for clues about what she might be thinking.

The Hokage's voice interrupted. "Ibiki, I'd like you to proctor the first examination," said the Hokage. "Anko, you get the second exam. Hayate, you get the third exam. Any questions?"

Ibiki coughed slightly. "How… hard would you like the examinations to be?"  
"Limit the fatalities if possible," said the Hokage. "We need enough candidates to put on a good showing for the final round. Any additional questions?"

There were none. However, when her name had been called, Anko stepped forward to escape from Ranma, and now she was standing in the open. Approaching her now would look very awkward.

The meeting didn't last much longer than the time it took for the announcement and nominations. The Hokage dismissed the others except for Anko, Ibiki, Hayate, and Inoichi.

Ranma hung back, hoping to have a moment alone with Anko before the meeting ended, but it was not to be. Frustrated, he slipped out with the rest of the forces, staking out a spot in the hall so that he could catch her as she left the meeting. But it went longer than anticipated, and lingering outside of the Hokage's door without a good reason was heavily frowned upon.

He left the tower and took up a spot outside to watch for her exit. Night fell and Ranma was still waiting. When the doors finally opened, Ibiki and Inoichi came out, but Anko was nowhere to be seen. Ibiki paused for a moment and bent his head to confer with Inoichi. The two seemed to be arguing back and forth heatedly for a moment before playing a game of rock-paper-scissors. Inoichi won, and with that he walked away, smirking.

Ibiki grimaced. Squaring his shoulders, he walked up to Ranma and stood directly before him.

"She isn't coming out until you leave."

Ranma frowned. "Did she ask you to pass that message?"

Ibiki nodded. "I don't know what happened between the two of you, nor do I care. But I do know that I've got a kunoichi who's working herself to death and isn't 100% operational as a result. I need her functional. If that means asking you to stay away, then I'll do it."

"I just want to know what happened." Ranma said.

"Don't we all. But again, it isn't my business." Ibiki shrugged. "Look, she'll be pissed at me for telling you this, but she'll be at training ground 44 in a month to administer the second round of the exams. You can't interfere with her official duties, but she won't be able to get away from you, either."

Ranma nodded. "Thanks."

Ibiki hesitated. "I have a few guesses what this is about. You can't do my job and not learn to read people. If it is what I think it is, then..." he shrugged. "Good luck. You'll need it."

True to his word, a month later, he arrived at the training ground in time to see Anko standing before a bunch of genin handing out waiver forms. When the task started and the genin disappeared into the forest, he slowly approached her. She didn't run away, for which he was thankful, but she did cross her arms defensively in front of her chest, pulling her coat closed.

Ranma stood just outside of her range, drinking in the sight of her. Now that he could see her, he noticed that she had the characteristic tightness in the corner of her eyes that indicated she'd not had enough sleep recently. She also seemed a bit thinner than last time he'd seen her. She'd probably not been eating as well or training as much.

The two continued to stare at each other until Anko finally got annoyed. "Well?" she asked.

"I missed you." His hand flew to his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that, but he couldn't deny it was true.

Her eyes widened at that statement. She swallowed. "Ranma, look..." She trailed off. Before anything else could be said, however, they were interrupted by the appearance of one of her subordinates in a cloud of smoke.

"Anko, we've got a problem," the kneeling ninja reported. "We've discovered three dead bodies."

Anko immediately left to investigate. Ranma followed, as he wasn't leaving till he had a chance to talk to her. The sight was gruesome enough; three dead young ninja from the Hidden Village of Grass lay sprawled out near statues of Buddhist bodhisattvas. One of them was missing his face. She paled and immediately ordered them to inform the Hokage as she took off into the forest.

Ranma tried to follow her. She whirled on him, and eyes blazing with fury, pulled rank and ordered him to go to the Hokage as well. He turned to leave, but something about this was bothering him. As he watched her speed off into the trees, a distant memory surfaced. Fuck the consequences. She wasn't getting away this time.

Following her without giving himself away was a challenge, but he'd gotten good at following and tracking people as a hunter nin. Unfortunately, it meant that he had to stay far enough back that he couldn't intervene in the brief exchange between her and Orochimaru. When her old sensei made a hand seal that dropped her to her knees, he saw red and exploded into action, pushing as much speed as he could into his movement. He'd never been more grateful to his father for inventing the way of the noisy thief as he was at that moment. With a ki laced shout, he told Orochimaru to freeze. It was enough to cause the Sannin to freeze for an instant, and with that Ranma delivered the most brutally powerful front kick he could to the man's ribcage. He felt the ribs shatter under his kick, and the force sent the snake Sannin rocketing through the tree behind him towards the forest floor, where he crashed into the ground, sending a huge spray of dirt and humus flying into the air upon impact. The force of the kick had left a trench in the ground that Might Guy would have been proud of.

It had been a long time since the Sannin had been caught flat footed. He didn't even have time to pull off a substitution as the body he was occupying was completely obliterated. He crawled out of the ruins of the grass nin's corpse with a snarl on his face. If not for his unique physiology, that blow could have very well ended him. As it was, he was angry and in pain, a combination he'd not felt for some time. Standing on the tree above him was a hunter-nin, mask in place and radiating violence. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, and with that the fight was on.

Anyone able to get the drop on him like that deserved to be eradicated with extreme prejudice. Kusanagi was immediately deployed, erupting from his throat as he attempted to spear the hunter-nin. The speed of the strike was incredible, particularly given from how far away it originated. Ranma waited until the very last moment and shifted just a fraction to his right, allowing the sword to stab into his vest but miss his skin. From the sheen on the edge of the blade and the hiss from the fabric, he realized that he couldn't take even the smallest nick from the blade due as it was likely to be highly toxic. Even if he had developed an immunity to many poisons over the years, given the speed in which this creep moved he needed to be 100% for the entire fight.

Ranma realized he needed to take the weapon out of the fight as quickly as possible. Before the blade could be removed, Ranma grabbed the hilt with his left hand, and grabbed the tongue holding it with his right hand. At that moment he was glad he for the mask he was wearing, because if Orochimaru had seen his smirk, he would have been much less willing to allow his next move. Ranma pulled with all his might, ripping Orochimaru off the floor and into the path of his fist. Orochimaru was prepared for this maneuver, though, just as he had been prepared when Anko tried this on him. Accelerating towards Ranma, Orochimaru was ready to land a punishing blow when the hunter-nin to pull the sword out of his jacket and threw it at him.

Before the sword left Ranma's hand, though, he tapped the hilt and yelled, "Bakusai tenketsu!" The sword exploded into slivers, covering the area in front of him with a deadly spray of toxic metal shards. At the same time, he powered up his ki aura, preventing the Sannin from performing a substitution due to the interference caused by his ki. Orochimaru was moving too fast to dodge, and his body was riddled with highly toxic shrapnel. That pain was soon replaced tearing sensation as he was caught in the face by a fully powered round house kick, which ripped his tongue out of his mouth and sent him careening once again through a few trees to the forest floor.

Blood dripping from his mouth, the Orochimaru was again forced to eject himself from his body. He looked up at the hunter above him, rage clouding his features.

"I liked that sword." Orochimaru hissed. Death was too good for this worm. He'd capture him and turn him into his personal guinea pig just to see how long he could keep him alive using the most painful tortures he could imagine.

However, before he could rejoin the fight, Orochimaru felt dozens of chakra signatures rapidly heading in his direction. Sparing a look of pure malevolence at Ranma, Orochimaru fled, slithering between the trees like his namesake. Retribution would come later. He did not want to get involved with dozens of ANBU right now, particularly given that he'd just been forced to use a large chuck of chakra to compensate for the two surprise attacks he'd just endured.

Ranma stifled the urge to chase the fleeing ninja. Instead, he went to check on Anko while he waited for the rest of the Konoha ninja to arrive. She was clutching her cursed seal and doubled over in pain, panting heavily. He landed on the branch next to her and reached out to rub her back, only to have her knock his hand away. He sat back on his haunches, hands up in a placating gesture.

She managed to sit back on her heels eventually, though she looked haggard. "You're an S-classed idiot, you know that?"

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to say anything else, as the cavalry from Konoha chose that moment to land on the branches around them. Ever the professional, Anko described the confrontation, along with Ranma's role. Already well respected by the ANBU for his abilities as a hunter-nin, hearing that he had faced Orochimaru one on one and gotten not one, but two clean shots on the Sannin without taking a blow garnered him additional accolades. He didn't care about that, though.

They gave a brief statement to the ANBU in charge of the group. Anko clearly needed a hospital. Graciously accepting an escort, Ranma picked up Anko, despite her protests, and proceeded to run as fast as he could to the nearest treatment facility.

Sarutobi puffed furiously on his pipe, hands clenched behind him as he grimly stared out the window towards the Hokage monument. Jiraiya was, for once, seated in a chair rather than perched on the window sill. He looked tired. He'd just reversed summoned himself when he'd gotten the Hokage's emergency message through his toad summons, and given how far away he'd been, that took a lot of chakra. He'd gladly use twice that amount, if necessary, given the news he'd just heard.

"So the bastard's back, huh?"

"Yes." Sarutobi clenched his teeth, and then forced himself to relax. "No doubt Orochimaru is planning something even more vile than the theft of the Sharingan. We absolutely cannot allow the Uchiha bloodline to go to that monster."

Jiraiya was in complete agreement on that point. The thought of Orochimaru with the Sharingan was horrifying. As it was, his former teammate made even elite ninja seem like amateurs. It had been a while since he'd last faced the mad scientist; no doubt he was even stronger today than he was many years ago. Jiraiya was no slouch, but he doubted he could take Orochimaru on in a fight and come out in one piece.

"Given how easily Orochimaru infiltrated the exams, I am inclined to believe we have at least one traitor in our midst, if not more. I would cancel the second phase of the exam, were it not for Orochimaru's warning. However, I can't help but think that Orochimarue much more wary before he moves again, given how much young Saotome caught him by surprise." The Hokage chuckled darkly. "Orochimaru hates surprises. I'm glad we have this one on our side. Do you remember that scroll I asked you to hold in escrow for Saotome?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Of course."

"Given recent events, I believe that part of Orochimaru's plan includes my death. Rather than ask Ranma to complete a task for me posthumously, I am inclined to ask him out-right before such any such tragic event should come to pass."

The toad sage frowned. He wasn't necessarily against the idea, but then again, plausible deniability was always important.

Sarutobi noticed his expression. "I think that if he is to play the necessary role, he should be given the choice before it is thrust upon him. He has had little enough choice in his life so far. I believe he will say yes. However, should he say no, then we have time to find an alternate means."

"And if he should say no?" Jiraiya asked. "There's a lot riding on this. If the word leaks, you won't remain Hokage long."

"I won't remain Hokage long, regardless. We are in a very difficult position." Sarutobi sighed, and made his way to his desk chair. He sat down with a groan. "The Ichibi container is within our walls. He is unstable and highly blood thirsty. Our alliance with Suna is strained, and at the same time, Orochimaru crawls out of whatever hole he's been hiding in, looking to steal bloodlines from under our noses. That cannot be his only objective, or he would have done it without showing himself. He wants to make a statement, I fear."

"Well, at least we know why Oto has suddenly increased its forces. "

"Most certainly. He thinks to become a kage himself." Sarutobi took off his hat and tossed it on the desk.

"But why? What would he get out of it?" Jiraiya shook his head. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"That," Sarutobi said, "is why I pay you to spy for Konoha. The next exam is in a month. I need you here for when Orochimaru makes his move. Use Naruto as a cover, but find out what is happening. I'm counting on you."

Jiraiya nodded and stood to leave. "Anything else?"

"Yes. I believe Ranma is currently in the hospital. Bring him here. Summon Inoichi as well, if you could. You will need to be present. I believe it is time we talked. "


	7. Chapter 7

I'm still alive, and still updating. I don't own any of this stuff. Wish I did, though.

* * *

The medic was mumbling nervously to himself as he kept his attention focused on the wound he was treating. Even though the wound was relatively small, a kunai to the hand had derailed the career of many a promising ninja when not properly treated given the delicate nature of the hand's musculature. The medic had to carefully and methodically treat the wound layer by layer to ensure there was no loss in mobility or stiffness that might compromise his patient's ability to function in the field.

While his extraordinary attention and devotion to care might have had something to do with his professionalism, dedication to service, life-long passion for easing suffering and the nature of the injury, the nervous glances he kept shooting to the hunter nin sitting in the corner of the room betrayed the real reason he was being so careful with this patient. Ranma was positively glowing, his aura flickering around his body and casting an eerie bluish-green light on everything in the room. Ranma's aura, in addition to being downright intimidating, had the added effect of masking the color of the healing chakra the medic was trying to use to treat the injury.

Like any trained medic, he was hesitant to delve into a wound with healing chakra if he couldn't see. However, Ranma was in no mood to wait around, and the medic's hesitancy to proceed just made Ranma's irritation, and by extension, his aura, grow, further complicating the medic's efforts to do his job. This vicious negative feedback loop had been going since Anko had been admitted into the room, and with each passing moment the medic's nervousness grew in proportion to Ranma's irritation.

With her free hand, Anko pulled a kunai from her leg pouch and tossed it at Ranma. He casually plucked it out of the air.

"Will you cut that out, you idiot? You're scaring the help." Anko huffed. "Honestly." Ranma's aura sputtered and died. With a satisfied sniff, she turned back to the medic, and with a smile, told him to continue. It certainly made it easier to see what he was doing without Ranma's aura interfering with his visuals, but it did little to ease the medic's nerves.

"Is that Neko?" The medic whispered, trying to keep his eyes on the delicate work of reconnecting the extensor digiti minimi and the associated tendons. Even still, he flicked his eyes over to the corner of the room before turning back to his Anko. "Are we going to be alright? I heard he's pretty uncontrollable."

"Neko? He's a harmless little pussycat." She smirked. "Why, he wouldn't even harm a butterfly, and I've got photos to prove it."

"I'm right here, you know." Ranma growled.

Ranma's voice caused the medic to flinch, which elicited a hiss of pain from Anko.

She glared at him. "Will you leave so he can finish this? Go stalk the halls, or something."

Ranma snorted. "Not likely. If I do that, you'll just slip out before I can find you and I'll spend another six months trying to track you down."

Anko sighed. "Look, I'll wait here when he's done. Promise. The more you interrupt, the longer this is going to take. Now go make yourself useful and get me some dango, or something."

Ranma muttered to himself, but did as asked. He opened the window of the room, and leaping out, found the nearest shop and purchased several large orders, knowing that Anko would probably polish them off with little difficulty. His mood must have been bleeding into his aura again, because the staff was stammering when the food was finally ready and handed over. Ranma slapped the money down on the counter and leapt away, not caring for the change.

By the time he got back to the room, the treatment was wrapping up. Even though the wound was closed, the medic still wrapped the injury in gauze, mostly as a reminder to take it easy for the next couple of days to prevent damage to the newly reconnected and delicate tissue. Anko flexed her hand experimentally a few times, and satisfied the wrappings wouldn't interfere with her motion, thanked the doctor before hopping off the bed.

Ranma followed her out the door, bag of rice-flour dumplings clutched in his hand. He quickly caught up with her, and offered her the bag. With a mumbled "thanks," she opened the bag and pulled one of the skewers out and practically shoved the whole thing into her mouth. It took her awhile to chew and swallow the treats, but when she did, she merely muttered that she needed some tea before reaching in for the next one.

The whole time she kept walking, leaving the nicer, residential area near the hospital was located in and heading towards the less salubrious districts where ninja went to relax after hours, free from prying eyes and judgment. Ranma frowned as he walked next to her, as she had not once looking in his direction since he handed her the bag several minutes ago.

Fed up, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"A bar." She replied.

"Why?"

Before he completed his question, though, she'd shoved another dumpling in her mouth. She held up a finger to forestall any additional questions, pointing towards her mouth, making a great show of the fact that she was still chewing. Ranma snatched the bag out of her hands and repeated his question.

Ranma held the bag out of reach. "You want these back, you answer my question. Why are we going to a bar?"

Anko swallowed her mouthful of dango, eyeing the bag hungrily. Eventually, she figured it would be faster to answer his question than try and snatch them back. "I don't think I can make it through a conversation with you tonight without drinking. Thus, we are going to a bar. Can I have those back now?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Ranma passed the bag back. She greedily clutched it to her chest, making cooing noises towards the bag before pulling yet another skewer out. This one was inhaled in the same manner as the others.

"Are you even enjoying those?" Ranma asked.

Anko ignored him, focusing instead on chewing and navigating the back alleys to avoid stepping in something that might get lodged in an open-toed sandal. After a few minutes, she ducked into a small back alley and stopping under a poorly lit sign. "We're here."

She pulled the rice paper door aside and brushed back the hanging banners to step inside. The interior was small, poorly lit, and quiet. The bar itself was small, dark wooden counter with rickety stools pulled up under it. This was not a full-service establishment, as the selection at the bar was mostly sake and hard liquors. A lone bartender half-heartedly wiped the countertop. At the sound of their entrance, he nodded in recognition at Anko and gave Ranma the sort of look that made Ranma suspect he must have been a ninja in a former lifetime.

Ranma could see why she picked this place, though, because it was empty at this time of the night. Also, the little space between the bar and the interior walls had been divided up into a series of deep booths in black leather with intentionally dim lighting and dividers that reached all the way to the ceiling. They were arranged around the interior walls, ensuring that everyone could keep an eye out on the entire establishment to make sure neighbors weren't eavesdropping or trying to lip read.

In short, it looked like the kind of place paranoid ninja went to get wasted before they realized they were truly alcoholics and it would be easier and safer to drink at home.

She walked room and held up two fingers to the barkeep as she did so, sliding into the booth closest to the bar but furthest from the door. Ranma sat across from her, looking intently at her as she sat back and leaned her head against the back of the booth. Two shots of some dark liquid slid into the booth, and Anko downed them both in quick succession, holding up two more fingers as she did so.

Ranma frowned, but said nothing. The next two drinks arrived quickly. Anko slid one across the table to Ranma, before picking up the other one.

"Cheers." She tossed it back. "You not drinking?" She looked across at Ranma, his drink untouched.

"No." He pushed it across to her. "But after this one, you're stopping too. I want to talk, not have you throw up on me."

With a grimace, she reached across and picked up his drink, downing it without any hesitation. The barkeep came back at the sound of the glass hitting the tabletop, but Anko waved him away with a grimace.

She put her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together, leaning forward until her mouth was hidden behind her hands. For the first time since the forest, she looked directly at him, gaze unwavering. "Well?" She asked.

Silence stretched for a bit. Finally, Ranma said, "How have you been?"

"That's it? You've not seen me for six months, and that's what you wanted to ask?" Anko snorted.

Ranma's temper flared at the insult and he leaned across the table. "No, I actually wanted to ask what the fuck is wrong with you, but decided I'd try to be polite."

"There!" Anko said with a demented little grin. "That's better."

Ranma visibly calmed himself by taking a deep breath before sinking back into his booth. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Anko..." Ranma growled.

"Don't 'Anko' me. You wanted to talk. I promised you I'd talk to you. I didn't promise that it'd be easy."

Ranma scrubbed his hands through his hair. He'd never had to deal with a situation like this before, and frankly he felt completely out of his depth. He'd always been the one being chased - this was the first time he'd ever had to track someone down to seek relationship clarification. The irony was not lost on him, but right now he didn't have time to focus on his past as he needed to understand what was going on in the present. Not having any idea how one approached a situation like this, Ranma eventually just leaned forward and asked. "I just... don't understand. Was it something I did?"

Anko closed her eyes and put her forehead on her interlaced fingers. "Yes and no."

"What do you mean by that?" Ranma asked.

Anko opened her eyes only to see that Ranma was leaning across the table, staring at her intently. She took a deep breath. "Ranma, can you excuse me for a second?"

Ranma eyed her suspiciously. "Why? Are going to leave?"

"No." She sighed. "I'll be right back." She saw that he was going to protest, so she cut him off. "I promise." He slumped back down into his seat, watching her intently just the same as she got up and went to the bar.

Ranma couldn't hear what she said to the bartender, but her words sparked some motion behind the bar. The bartender produced a bottle of the liquor she'd been drinking earlier, a pitcher of water, and a couple of glasses, placing them on the counter before heading into the back with a nod.

Anko waited until he disappeared before coming back to the booth, liquor in one hand and the water pitcher in the other. "Mind if I ask a favor?"

"What is it?" Ranma queried.

Anko dumped about half the pitcher on his head, triggering the transformation. By the time Ranma wiped the water out of her face, Anko was back in the seat across the booth and pouring another round of drinks.

Ranma was pissed. "What the hell was that for?" Pulling a towel out of her stuff space, she started to dry off, glaring at Anko as she did so.

Anko shrugged. "I figured it might be easier to talk like this. Two girlfriends having drinks, you know?" She sipped her drink this time and pushed one across to Ranma.

Ranma pushed it back. "I don't want it."

Anko nodded. "Figured as much. Oh well." She downed the drink she was holding and picked up Ranma's. Ranma grabbed her hand, however, and made her drop the drink.

"You've had enough for right now." The now-female Ranma grabbed the bottle of alcohol and pulled it into her stuff space with the towel she had been using previously. Reaching for the empty water glasses, she filled up the two glasses with the water remaining in the pitcher, pushing one across the table to Anko.

"Drink it."

"I don't need you taking care of me, Ranma." Anko rolled her eyes. "I'm barely feeling buzzed at this point."

"We'll see if you still feel that way in fifteen minutes." Ranma said. "Do you care to explain what you mean by your earlier comment? What I did wrong?"

Rather than answer, right away Anko merely looked at the water glass in her hand. "You... didn't really do anything wrong."

"Then why did you just… disappear?" Ranma asked. "You said enjoyed our time together. I just don't... it didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now."

Anko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I did enjoy our time together. I've..." She trailed off. "Ranma, I messed up when I slept with you. I can't take it back, but I can try to move on."

"What do you mean, 'you messed up?'"

"Teachers aren't supposed to sleep with students." Anko said.

Ranma snorted. "That rule might make sense for a teacher-student relationship between an adult and a 12 year old genin, but between two consenting adults? I don't see why it would have been a problem."

"Well, it was a problem for me." She said.

"Why? What was so wrong about, it Anko?" Ranma asked.

"Because that's how you do it if you want to brainwash someone!" She hissed. "It starts small, until you get them to let down their guard, then you start instilling feelings of affection and loyalty and then you twist it and manipulate it until you can corrupt it for your own purposes!" By the end of her tirade, she was red-faced and breathing raggedly as she clutched the table with one arm for support.

A heavy silence fell across the table as Anko struggled to get her breathing back under control. It took a while, and once she was breathing normally again, she kept her eyes on the table, refusing to meet Ranma's.

"Can you tell me about it? Your old sensei, I mean. You've told me some parts, but..." Ranma trailed off.

Anko slumped in her seat. She was unable to start at first, but after a few easy questions about what Orochimaru was like, the words started to flow. At first, Anko spoke so softly that it was barely audible, even in the quite bar, but her voice got slowly stronger as she more details and memories were brought forward. Orochimaru was a prodigy - the likes of which came only once in a generation. His talent, determination, and thirst for knowledge made him stand out from the rest of his cohort. He'd always been a little strange even before he lost his parents, but their deaths twisted him somehow and turned his interests into morally questionable grounds. Though he hid it well, his sadistic tendencies fuel his research into forbidden arts, particularly the search and quest for power.

His genius always served Orochimaru's own purposes. After the team of the Sannin disbanded, Anko became his apprentice. Anko told Ranma about what it was like to study under one of the Sannin- before he decided to walk the path of power over all else. At a certain point, Orochimaru's explorations required subjects to experiment on, and he decided to groom Anko to play a role in his deprivations, molding her personality and her skills to study how his seal would effect a human body. This was only apparent in retrospect, after having undergone extensive interrogation and analysis by both Torture and Interogation head Yamanaka and Morino Ibiki. Regardless of having been cleared by them both, though, after she received the cursed seal and was abandoned, she was treated as an outcast by most of the populace, as if she had played some role in Orochimaru's depravity.

Silent tears began making tracks down Anko's face at some point as she talked. Ranma already had a loathing for Orochimaru based off the few discussions she'd had with Anko prior to this. However, for a teacher to so abuse the trust of a student was unforgivable on many levels. Ranma's own personal experience with his father fueled his rage, as a lot of what Anko underwent sounded uncomfortably close to his own upbringing. In his father's defense, everything Genma had done was undertaken in an effort to make Ranma the best possible martial artist. The fact that Genma was able to satiate his own gluttonous appetites while doing so was just a happy coincidence. Unconsciously, Ranma began to feed her anger into the Soul of Ice, allowing the rage to settle into a condensed ball in her stomach. Even though her control was normally very good, Ranma's anger was too much to contain, and the water in the glass she was holding froze.

Ranma vowed that if she met Orochimaru again, there would be no mercy.

Anko eventually ran out of things to say. The liquor was catching up to her quickly. She sat there, haggard and wrought out, drained from the telling of her tale. Ranma, too, was tired from listening and processing all the information she'd been given.

Before the conversation could resume again, however, Jiraiya entered the bar and made a beeline for the booth. There was no way he missed Anko's state of disarray, but he chose not to comment as he addressed Ranma.

"Sorry to break up the party. Hokage wants to see you."

Ranma frowned. "Can't this wait?" She nodded her head in Anko's direction.

"No can do. I'll give you a couple of minutes, but we've got to go." With that, Jiraiya turned and walked out the front door.

Ranma sighed, and waited for Jiraiya to leave before turning back to Anko. "I still want to finish our conversation," she said. "I don't know how long this will take. Where should I meet you again?"

Anko chuckled weakly. "If you leave me the bottle, I'll still be here when you finish. As long as you don't take too long, you'll know where to find me."

Ranma hesitated for a second, and pulled the liquor out of her stuff space, placing it on the table. She poured a shot over the ice in the glass in her hand, pushing it across the table to Anko. "Don't drink too much. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, she stood and exited the booth, frowning as she watched Anko clutched the glass in her hand, never bothering to look in Ranma's direction as she left.

* * *

Needless to say, Ranma was not in a good mood as she followed Jiraya over the rooftops to the Hokage's office, grumbling under her breath the whole way to there. It took most of the trip to work herself out of the Soul of Ice. Jiraiya was also in a serious mood, not even taking the time to make a perverted comment as he moved towards the tower with a purposeful stride.

They were ushered right in when they arrived. The Hokage, as normal, was sitting behind his desk stamping papers. Jiraiya followed up behind, shutting the door and pushing Ranma to the center of the room. At the sound of the latch clicking shut, the Hokage looked up. He blinked once or twice at the sight of the female Ranma and muttered something just beyond the range of hearing, but set Ranma's pervert detection radar tingling. The feeling passed quickly, however, as the air in the office quickly took on a serious tone.

Taking off his hat, the Hokage nodded to the Toad Sage. "Jiraiya, if you would please."

The white-haired ninja immediately knelt down, and taking out some brushes and ink, began to draw a complex symbol on the floor. It took several minutes to complete, and once done, Jiraiya placed his hands on the seal and channeled as much chakra as he could spare. Ranma's sense of the outside world seemed to dim, then the world beyond the small bubble contained in the office seemingly vanished. It reminded him greatly of the Umisenken. Curious, Ranma made a note to ask about that later.

Jiraiya stood up on shaky knees, sweat apparent on his forehead. "That… was tougher than I remember."

"Welcome to aging. A small glimpse of what is to come, should you live to be my age." The Hokage said.

Jiraiya frowned. "I'd prefer to think it's because I don't often overpower seals like that."

"How long do we have?" The Hokage asked.

"At least thirty-five, maybe thirty-eight minutes." Jiraiya shrugged. "Can't promise more than that, though."

"It should be sufficient." With that, the Hokage sat up in his chair and pushed back from his desk a bit. "I've summoned you here for two things today. The first one's pretty easy. Catch." The Hokage tossed a scroll to Ranma, who caught it with a puzzled look.

"Read it." The Hokage commanded.

With a shrug, Ranma broke the seal and read. She looked up. "Really?"

"Congratulations on your promotion, Jonin Saotome Ranma. You can pick up your flak jacket when you leave." The Hokage smiled.

"Wait. I don't get it." Ranma protested. "I mean, I know I'm the best 'n all, but…"

Sarutobi chuckled. "As to the why… that is the difficult part." Sarutobi stood, and with a grunt, knuckled the small of his back as he walked to the front of his desk and sat on a corner. "Being the leader of a ninja village requires more time and skill than any one person can reasonably be expected to posses. So, certain… portfolios are delegated to trustworthy individuals in order to free up time for the Kage to manage the affairs of the village." The Hokage pointed at Jiraiya. "For example, Jiraiya is our Spymaster. Inoichi, with whom you've worked extensively, is the head of the Interrogation department. I do not tell you this lightly. In particular, Jiraiya's position is a very well-guarded state secret, and I expect it to remain that way after this meeting ends. Is that clear?"

Ranma nodded. "Sure. But why tell me all this?"

"It is simple." This came from Jiraiya. "In order to become the head of a portfolio, one must be of Jonin rank or higher."

Ranma looked down at the scroll in her hands, then up at the two men in the room with her. Both the Hokage and the Toad Sage looked extraordinarily pleased with themselves.

"You gotta be shittin' me." Ranma groaned.

The Hokage looked like a cat that not only polished off a canary, but had been given a saucer of milk to help clear the feathers from its throat. "I am not 'shittin'' you, as you so elegantly put it."

"But why me?" Ranma asked. "You've got lots of jonin that you could tap for this sort of stuff."

The Hokage nodded. "Yes. There are many jonin who might be tapped to fill certain roles. However, there is one role that has been vacant for half a dozen years, and you are by far the best candidate for the job. In fact, I'm convinced that you are the only choice, given your unique background and skill set. You will succeed where others would fail, and, more importantly, be accepted in the role where no one else would."

"I'm not sure I buy it. What did you have in mind?" Ranma asked.

The Hokage and Jiraiya both looked at each other briefly before the Hokage answered. "Law Enforcement and Internal Control Services."

"What…?" However, Ranma was cut off before she could finish her question.

"Would you indulge me in a brief trip down memory lane?" The Hokage asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

"You always have a choice. But this was less a request and more a polite way of telling you to listen carefully." The amusement that had been present on the Hokage's face vanished instantly. "Before I tell you this, though, I want an oath of honor from you that you will not divulge what I am about to say."

For once, Ranma didn't just open her mouth and spout off the first retort that came to mind. Alarm bells were ringing in her head due to the seriousness of the Hokage's demeanor and the particular phrasing of the request. She'd been around ninja long enough now to know that secrecy generally meant bad things.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Ranma asked.

Sarutobi smiled grimly. "I'm pretty sure you won't."

"And if I refuse?" Ranma asked. "If you recall the first time you put me in a situation like this, my options were pretty damn limited."

The Hokage nodded. "I would like to apologize for that. However, you were a completely unknown quantity when you first arrived. In addition, you broke out of a high security facility and ended up wounding a number of Konoha's security forces in your attempt to leave the city. We are creatures of habit and suspicion, and unfortunately we are trained to deal with threats harshly, given how much is at stake. This time, however, you have a choice. You can simply accept the promotion and leave."

"What's the catch?" Ranma asked.

"No catch." The Hokage said.

Ranma's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The Hokage allowed a ghost of a smile to tug at the corner of his lips. "Well, I should say, if you choose to stay and listen, then you will have a chance to do a great service to this village _and_ utilize your particular skill set the way it was meant to be used."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma asked.

The Hokage waggled a finger back and forth. "No more information till I get your oath."

"Can I think about it?" Ranma asked.

"Absolutely." The Hokage said. "I'll give you thirty seconds."

Ranma snorted. "You suck."

"You are not the first to tell me that." Sarutobi said with amusement.

Ranma stared at the floor, trying to examine this offer from as many angles as possible. She didn't believe the old man for a second - he was far too wily to not have some sort of hidden agenda. Based on how tense his body language was, whatever he was hiding was probably something serious.

Ranma was interrupted from her thoughts by Jiraiya shouting. "Time."

Both he and the Hokage watched Ranma carefully as she looked up from the floor and glared back at them both. "I hope you realize that I'm gonna kick both of your asses after all this is said and done, right?"

Jiraiya smirked. "I'm looking forward to seeing you try, little girl."

Ranma flipped him the bird before turning it on the Hokage. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Do you swear on your honor to not reveal anything that will be revealed to you today unless given permission from the Hokage?"

Ranma grumbled under her breath for good thirty seconds. She looked up, her eyes flashing as she struggled to keep her temper in check. "I, Ranma Saotome, swear on my honor to not reveal anything revealed today unless given permission from the Hokage. That work for you, old man?"

"It does. Thank you." The Hokage sagged in relief. "Jiraiya?"

The white-haired Toad Sage stood slowly as he uncrossed his arms, a frown readily apparent on his face. "Sarutobi, you sure about this?"

"I am. For once, I have absolutely no qualms about an action that I am about to authorize. Perhaps this can be a small step to ensuring Konoha is strong and the will of fire burns brightly."

Jiraiya sent a glance to the Hokage for a second before turning to Ranma. "If you accept, you'll be given license to use absurd amounts of non-lethal violence against people behaving poorly with the full support of the administration in the interest of preserving law and order."

Ranma stared blankly.

"You get to beat idiots up and toss them in jail for breaking the rules." Jiraiya said.

"That I can do." Ranma grinned, cracking her knuckles.

"Essentially, your role would be exactly what Jiraiya stated." The Hokage said. "You would be placed as the head of a force that would be charged with maintaining law and order in the village for all non-military matters, reporting directly to the Hokage. The force would be tasked with conducting investigations, combating crime, and enforcing existing standing orders. Capture and detaining criminals or those in contravention of the existing laws through the use of non-lethal techniques would be emphasized. You would remand those apprehended to our security forces for justice to be administered until such time I can establish some mechanism for ensuring an impartial system of review and sentencing."

Ranma mulled the information over. "But don't you have the ANBU for that?"

"The ANBU were never intended to fulfill that role. They were originally an external facing organization, set up to counter overt and covert threats to the village. It is a waste of their time and talents to focus on internal issues, as it leaves them less time to focus on their true role." The Hokage stated.

"Konoha used to have an internal police force." Jiraiya stated. "The problem was that it was comprised exclusively of Uchiha."

"But with the Uchiha were wiped out..." Ranma trailed off.

"Others have had to fill that gap." The Hokage finished. "As a result, Konoha is weaker for it. The job is yours if you want it. To be fair, it is a rather thankless job. You will make no friends for taking this on, and quite a few enemies, I imagine."

Ranma thought furiously, her mind racing as she tried to process the information she was given. "Why me?"

"Because you understand what it is like to live in a society that is ruled by laws. We ninja experience brief periods of peace between wars. Hopefully, you can institute something more… enduring for Konoha. In addition, you have the respect of your peers and the temperament and ability to incapacitate your targets without resorting to lethal force." Sarutobi said.

"Pfft." Ranma huffed. "They don't respect me. They fear me 'cause of that that cock and bull story you guys crafted about me being like that Naruto kid."

The Hokage nodded. "Perhaps. But your performance as a Hunter was exemplary. I doubt I could name more than a handful of ninja the village who could have performed a similar feat. None of them would be good choices to resurrect the police forces. Might Guy, for example, might be able to similarly incapacitate suspects, but I don't particularly see him as being effective in trying to structure a peace keeping force, particularly given his fetish for tight-fitting body wear."

Ranma blanched at the thought. "Point taken." She paused. "But you said I'd probably make enemies. I know myself. I'm good at breaking heads. I'm pretty sure you'll regret it when I piss off some muckity-muck while doing what you ask me to do."

"That's the point, really." Jiraiya said.

Ranma narrowed her eyes and glared at the white-headed toad sage. "What do you mean, that's the point?"

"Currently, I get so wrapped up in internal matters that I can't focus on my job of protecting the village. Orochimaru's appearance in the exams is proof enough of that." The Hokage said. "My aim is to get people focused on coming to you with their complaints about routine, non-military matters that require the enforcement of regulation so that I can focus on keeping this village safe."

"I'm not so good at making people like me. Unless you can promise me some kind of protection and free rein to do the job that needs to be done, I'm not sure it's a good idea." Ranma said.

The Hokage nodded. "I can grant you certain authorities and privileges, within the bounds of reason. As long as you don't try to create a paramilitary force that operates outside of my influence, you would have a large degree of autonomy in the structure, training, and management of that force." The Hokage and Jiraiya shared a brief glance before he continued. "In terms of protection from politics, you would answer to the Hokage, and your performance would be subject to periodic review. As long as you behave according to the rules we set forth, you should be able to operate relatively free from political influence, as long as you strive to remain apolitical. However, I will throw you to the wolves if you start dabbling in politics more than necessary."

Ranma grimaced. "How long would I have to get this up and running?" She asked.

"Initially, you'd be given six months to come up with a plan for rebuilding the force from the ground up, including coming up with an operating budget and training plan. That means you will have to face the bane of all managers - paperwork." Sarutobi laced the last word with as much antipathy as possible. "You'll be given some resources, but how you choose to allocate them will be up to you. I cannot spare any ninja to build your ranks, but you are welcome to recruit from any genin potentials that fail to make it into the ninja corps. Many of them would work quite well in this capacity." Sarutobi said.

"And civilians?" Ranma asked.

"If they are so inclined." Sarutobi responded.

Back home, Ranma had never really paid much attention to the police. Now, however, she was being asked to essentially try and recreate a police force from the ground up in a land that all too often resorted to lethal violence to solve its problems.

In short, this was a shitty deal. But the alternative - having nothing at all - was even worse in the long run.

"And now, the catch." Jiraiya said.

"But you said there was no catch!" Ranma exclaimed.

Both Jiraiya and the Hokage both chuckled in mirth. The Hokage went as far as to wipe the corner of his eye, muttering under his eye about innocence.

"That, Ranma, is exactly why I want you for this job." The Hokage said. The laughter died down soon enough. "There is always a catch, Ranma. In this case, it doesn't have to do so much with you, but with the history of the job. What we are about to tell you is known to a handful of people – myself, Jiraija, Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Uchiha Itachi."

Ranma opened her mouth to ask a question, but was interrupted by the Hokage raising his hand. "I ask that you listen first. We'll answer questions later."

The Hokage began to pace, hands clasped behind his back as he spoke. "Koharu and Homura are former teammates of the mine and make up the Konoha Council. The Council exists to help the Hokage govern Konoha and ensure that the decisions made are in the best interest of the village. Though the Hokage has final say in most matters, they are there to provide dissenting view to ensure any decision reached is takes into account as many possibilities as possible."

Jiraiya paused. "Then there is Danzo Shimura." Jiraiya's lips curled, as if he'd just eaten something rotten.

Sarutobi sighed. "I respect both of my teammates, but I find Koharu and Homura to be more… militant than I am. I've lived through too many wars, and so my first reaction is to try and find a peaceful means to resolve a situation. Danzo, however… his loyalty to Konoha is boundless, but he is by far the most militant elder of Konoha. He used to head a division of ANBU that ran black ops for Konoha. He will do anything – absolutely anything – if he believes it will benefit the village. Morality has no role to play in his defense of the village. Assassinations, kidnappings, blackmail, torture, inciting violence or war… he will and has made use of any tool in the ninja arsenal to protect our village." As he spoke, Ranma noticed that the Sarutobi seemed to almost visibly wilt, as if he were aging before her eyes. The vitality that Ranma associated with old masters was missing, leaving behind simply an old, broken warrior.

"I disagree with him vehemently on his approach, and when I resumed the title of Hokage asked that his organization, ROOT, be disbanded. I don't believe for a second that he has complied, given what I know of him. I'm sure it is just buried too deeply for me to find. He is as ruthless and merciless as any ninja I've ever known, with the possible exception of Orochimaru." Sarutobi paused. "Make no mistake, for all his injuries Danzo remains a formidable opponent."

"Danzo's approach of taking no prisoners and eliminating all threats before they become known is a double-edged sword. It generates a lot of antipathy and undermines the very stability he's trying to protect." Jiraiya said. "In addition, because he acts so decisively, he often destroys leads to larger conspiracies and threats, leaving us vulnerable."

"Danzo will _not _be pleased that the role the Uchiha previously played will be reconstituted with forces beyond his direct political control. I am sure that he will attempt to infiltrate, influence, and manipulate your forces as soon as you get them up and running. By taking steps to reform this non-military force, I am setting you up to directly oppose Danzo's wishes, and in turn protect this village from his methodology." The Hokage said. "How you will accomplish that I leave up to you. At some point, I am going to arrange for you to make contact with Uchiha Itachi."

"Itachi?" Ranma sputtered. "Didn't he… ya know, off his whole family?"

"Yes, he did. Because I ordered him to." The Hokage hung his head, his voice thick with emotion. "Contrary to what most believe, Itachi is the best example of what a ninja can be. He's a pacifist and one-hundred percent loyal to his village. He came to me with disturbing news, and did what was deemed necessary to preserve the peace. He chose peace over his own family. Not many would make that choice."

Jiraiya continued. "The Uchiha were a strong and proud clan, full of fearsome warriors. Their sharingan helped make Konoha the power it became, and also made them uniquely suited for subduing criminals in non-lethal manners. Long ago an agreement was reached that the Uchiha would be given control of Konoha to govern the internal security concerns. They contributed a force of clansmen that policed the city, relieving the burden of dealing with internal disorder from the Hokage so he could concentrate on external threats."

In the time it took for Jiraiya to speak, the Hokage seemed to have recovered a bit of his disposition. "The arrangement was fragile, however." Sarutobi said. "Many within the clan felt like they, the Uchiha, were always being passed over for the position of Hokage, which they assumed was theirs by right as one of the leading clans within the village. For generations there was constant bickering, plotting, and mistrust between the Uchiha and the leadership of this village."

Sarutobi closed his eyes and sighed. "The last clan head of the Uchiha, Fugaku, crossed a line. While we were still recovering from the last shinobi war, he began plotting a coup to take the mantle of Hokage through force. Then the Kyuubi attacked the village. The Kyuubi… the attack happened thirteen years ago, but it remains one of the most traumatic events our village has ever endured. It further divided the Uchiha from the rest of the village, because rumors immediately began to circulate that the Uchiha had been controlling the beast through the Sharigan."

"Years passed before the Uchiha were ready to move. However, Itachi came to me and revealed the plan. Had the coup d'état succeeded, Konoha would have been easy pickings for our enemies, as a great many ninja would have died in the conflict. Danzo advocated we strike first. I did not want to, but I was overruled." Sarutobi stated.

"A great many ninja died the day I gave the order to Itachi for the clan to be exterminated. For many, their only crime was to put the good of their clan above the good of their village. The children were entirely blameless. There is not a single night when I don't feel guilt over what happened, but ordering the strike prevented a civil war in Konoha that would have lead to even more death and destruction as other villages would have pounced on us, triggering another shinobi war. At the time, it seemed the only route to preserve the village and protect us from our enemies."

Ranma gaped. It took her awhile to find her voice, and when it did it sounded entirely too screechy for her to be comfortable. "What... THE... FUCK?"

Sarutobi pointed to the chair. "Sit. Yell at me later. We've got some time on before the seal expires, and you and I have some things we need to discuss. Namely, how to right some grievous wrongs and how you can prevent something of this nature from ever happening again. Jiraiya, tell me when the seal expires so we can bring Inoichi in. We'll need his help to get Ranma ready for what is to come."

* * *

By the time Ranma got back to the bar, Anko was completely shit-faced. She slid into the booth across for her - Anko acknowledged her presence simply by grunting and reaching for the nearly empty bottle in front of her. Ranma grabbed it first, and pulled it away.

Then she took a long pull. She was barely conscious of Anko's attempts to grab the bottle back, concentrating instead on the burn of the alcohol as it worked its way through her system rather than think about the information she'd just learned and the discussion that had followed. She'd deal with it later; her brain was still too fried to really process what she'd just been told.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any weirder, the Hokage went and pulled the rug out from under her feet. The worst part of it was that Ranma actually agreed with the Hokage's reasoning. That frightened her almost as much as the task she'd be given.

Anko grabbed at the bottle again, pulling Ranma out of her thoughts. "You're done here." Ranma said.

Anko made an obscene gesture in response.

Ranma got up from the booth and took the bottle with her, walking over to the bartender and handing it back.

"Does Anko have a tab?"

The bartender nodded.

"Great. Put this on it."

With a nod, the bartender reached out and grabbed the bottle, which promptly vanished behind the counter. Ranma returned to the table only to find that Anko had slumped over in the booth, close to the verge of passing out. With a sigh, the redhead leaned over and grabbed one of her hands and pulled her up into a seated position. Anko's protests were incoherent, but eventually she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Ranma threw one of Anko's arms around her shoulder, and wrapping the other around her waist, preceded to half-carry, half drag the purple-haired woman out of the bar. Ranma, even in her slightly shorter female form, wasn't inconvenienced by Anko's weight, but the other woman was barely able to put one foot in front of the other. After a while, Ranma gave up simply scooped Anko up in a bridal carry, heading in the direction of her apartment.

Anko muttered something into Ranma's chest at first, but passed out at some point along the way, asleep before he reached her place. Not having a set of keys of his own anymore, she crouched down so that she could continue to cradle Anko with her knees and one arm. With her free hand, Ranma pulled out a pair of lock picks and did her best to force the tumblers on the door's locks. With only one hand, it took far longer than she would have liked, but Anko slept through it all, oblivious. Once she was able to get in, she forced the door open and slipped inside. Ranma closed the door behind him, turned on the light, and sighed at the mess and stench.

The kitchen counter was covered with empty take out boxes and bottles. The trash was full to overflowing, and smelled rancid. The living room wasn't in much better shape. The coffee table was covered in empty bottles and dango containers, with dirty mesh body suits Anko favored strewn over the back of the couches.

Ranma carried Anko into the bedroom, which was also a mess. The room smelled stale. She carefully set Anko down on a clean patch of floor. As quickly as possible, Ranma stripped the bed, flipped the mattress, and replaced the sheets with a clean pair from the closet, but not before she noticed that a vast majority of the clean linens were still folded in the same way as the last time she'd been here.

When the bed was made, Ranma gently laid her down on the mattress. It didn't matter, though - she could have dropped her and she wouldn't have noticed, given how far gone she was. She debated whether or not to undress her before tucking her in, but decided it would only complicate matters between them at this point. With a sigh, decided to occupy her time cleaning up to avoid thinking about the Hokage, the Uchiha, and all the other fucked up skeletons buried in Konoha's closets. Besides, Anko had promised that they'd finish the conversation they'd started at the bar, and this looked like it would be the best chance she'd get for a while.

With little more to do than cleaning to occupy her time, Ranma was able to get the apartment looking livable again in a few hours. Rather than go home, she decided to crash on the couch to ensure she'd be able to talk with Anko when she woke up.

Morning came, and Ranma already awake when the the sounds of Anko groaning miserably from her bedroom permeated the house. Ranma grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and stood at the entrance to the bedroom. Anko was sitting on the edge of the bed, head between her hands, her purple hair hanging down to hide her face.

"You want some water?" Ranma offered.

Anko turned to glare at her, eyes bloodshot.

Eventually, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"You passed out." She pointed at herself with a thumb. "I carried you here. I want to finish our conversation."

"Only thing coming out of my mouth in the next couple of hours is vomit." Anko hung her head. "Can I have that water?"

Ranma walked over and handed her the glass. Anko grabbed and gulped it down, holding it out for another. Ranma ran to the restroom to fill it up, and handed it back to her. This process was repeated a few times until she'd chugged enough water to feel slightly human again.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"No." Anko stated flatly. "I'm going back to sleep, and when I wake up I'm going to take a shower. If you're still around, we'll talk then."

"Then I'll wait." Ranma said.

Anko promptly flopped back on the bed, and was out in seconds.

And so she did. Some time later, the sound of running water came out of the bedroom. When it ended, Anko came out of her bedroom, hair wrapped in a towel and wearing what looked to be relatively normal clothes - a loose knit sweater and a baggy pair of pants. Ranma raised an eyebrow at the ensemble - in the entire time she'd been here, she'd never seen anything in Anko's wardrobe remotely resembling normal. She'd have to ask about it later.

Anko sat down on the couch opposite Ranma and pulled her knees into her chest, resting her head on her knees. They stared at each other for a bit. Anko's pallid face and bloodshot eyes did little to hide her nervousness. Ranma simply stared at her, relieved to see that she was at least willing to talk to her again after avoiding her for so long.

"So?" Anko said.

"So?" Ranma snorted. "I want to know what happened. Why did you just... stop seeing me?"

Instead of answering, she asked a question of her own. "Why did you pick a fight with Orochimaru?"

"What does Orochimaru have to..." Ranma trailed off, reflecting on last night's conversation. In the end, Ranma shrugged. "He was going to kill you. I couldn't let that happen."

"Why?" She asked. "Why couldn't you just let him?"

"Because I..." Ranma stopped, and took a breath. "I care about you. That's why. I don't know what it is exactly we have... or had, at least... but I liked it. I miss it. Damn it, I missed you. I still miss you. I'm not good at this kind of stuff, but I want that back."

"I can't." Anko averted her gaze. "He's going to kill you. You won't be able stop him."

"You don't know that." Ranma said.

"I do. You might skilled enough to fight him with taijutsu, but he's too skilled, too treacherous, and too ruthless in everything else. He'll win eventually."

"Why should that matter?"

"Because it scares me." She whispered. She clutched briefly at the seal on her neck. "It would be the final straw, I think. I had nothing to lose before I met you. There was nothing else he could take away that would hurt me."

"Then teach me how to beat him." Ranma said. "Fight him with me. We were a damn good team, and someone like Orochimaru doesn't have friends. He has followers. I've fought plenty of people technically stronger than me, but I've always won - because I had friends and they didn't."

"You don't understand, Ranma." Anko put her forehead on her knees and didn't say anything. "It's not a matter what we are. Friends, lovers, whatever. This thing..." She pointed again at the seal. "The only thing that keeps this at bay is a flimsy seal and my will power. Emotions are a powerful trigger. Too much rage, and the seal gains power. Too much hate, and it beckons me to use it. Only my willpower holds it back. Attachment is too dangerous. If we..." She paused. "If we have some sort of relationship and you fall, it would break me. I'd lose the will to keep going. At that point, that bastard would win. I'd want this thing to take over, just so I wouldn't have to think or hurt anymore."

In response Ranma held up her hand, and a small sphere of ki leapt into being, casting a pale blue light on the living area. "I know this is going to sound funny coming from me, but emotions can be a source of strength. They fuel my attacks. Through sheer willpower I create these attacks based off emotion - and in the end, they help reinforce and stabilize the emotion I use." The glow winked out as she let the sphere of ki die out.

"Before I came here... I lived in perpetual fear of making any decisions related to my own personal happiness. I didn't really know what happiness was. I had to rely on confidence in my own skills as the emotion to fuel my attacks, since I was trapped in a web of unhappy relationships. Relying on confidence to fuel my attacks was idiotic, in retrospect. It made me arrogant. I learned pretty quickly that arrogance would kill me. So I worked hard to come up with something else I could use. In the end, I was able to use ki based on sheer willpower alone. It's perhaps not as strong, but a lot safer in the end. And, it has had the added benefit of reinforcing my willpower, making it easier to call upon when I need it."

"I can't do what you can do, Ranma." Anko said.

"Yes you can. Isn't molding chakra partly an exercise in will power? Your will is strong. This..." She gestured, pointing to the two of them, "us... it doesn't have to be a source of weakness. It can be a source of strength. I was only able to do that because of you. You gave me a reason to eliminate what I didn't know was a weakness. For the first time in my life, I want to make an active choice and pursue it, rather than be forced into something. I want to be with you, if you'll let me."

"I'm not sure I'm capable of doing what you're asking," Anko responded in a barely audible whisper.

Ranma stood up and walked over to her. Very carefully, she placed a hand on Anko's shoulder.

To Ranma's surprise and relief, Anko immediately let her feet fall to the floor and wrapped her in a hug, burying her face into Ranma's stomach. Ranma gently rubbed her back, feeling something close to contentment for the first time in a while.

"I'm afraid," Anko mumbled into her stomach.

"Don't be."

"I can't help it." Anko squeezed tighter. "I'm afraid that I will just like my sensei. That I'll corrupt this and taint it, or allow the seal to do it. I'm afraid that I'll just use you for my own ends, and you'll end up hating me like I hate him, and if that happens, he'll win."

"I think... the fact that you're worried about it means you will never be him," Ranma said. "Just because he taught you doesn't mean you're destined to repeat his mistakes." The redhead trailed off. "The seal only has as much power over you as you give it. If it feeds off of negative emotions, maybe positive ones will weaken it further."

Ranma was caught off-guard when Anko's grip suddenly tightened. With a twist, she body slammed into the couch, pinned by Anko's weight. Anko shifted till she was straddling Ranma's hips and immediately leaned forward to hungrily attack her mouth, kissing her so forcefully that pain and pleasure mixed in equal measure. Anko didn't let up, lying fully on top of the smaller redhead as her hands began to greedily roam.

Anko's assault left Ranma reeling. She managed to gasp out Anko's name between kisses, making the purple-headed pause.

Anko was breathing heavily as she stared down at Ranma. "What? Do you want me to stop?"

Ranma immediately blurted out "God No! But... I'm..." She trailed off. "Do you want me to get some hot water?"

Anko's grin turned wicked. "Nope!" With that, she resumed her attack. Anko's hands beginning to wander as she continued to lay claim to the woman beneath her. Ranma's lips were soon puffy from the forcefulness of her kisses. Their tongues explored and vied with each other. Anko pulled back just enough to suck on Ranma's lower lip, releasing it only to resume her ministrations. Eventually, Anko's kisses began trail down Ranma's jawline to her neck, and from her neck to her collar bone. Without preamble, Anko lifted herself up slightly and ripped open the ties on Ranma's shirt, free her breasts. Anko sat up, straddling Ranma's hips, shook her hair free of the towel it was wrapped in and threw it to the side. She pulled off her own shirt, and shifting lower on Ranma' hips, trailed her wet hair across Ranma's exposed chest.

The cool of her hair instantly caused Ranma's nipples to harden. Anko latched on quickly, alternating between aggressive sucking and soft bites, enough to elicit gasps from the redhead. Anko shifted up, pressing her chest into Ranma's as she captured the redhead's lips once again. Anko shifted to her left side, draping her leg across Ranma's body in order to free her right hand. Without preamble, she squeezed Ranma's breasts while kissing her, taking care to tweak the redhead's nipples between gropes.

Anko whispered huskily, "I'm going to make you my little bitch tonight. Do you have a problem with that?"

Ranma went limp in response, surrendering completely. This seemed to encourage Anko even further. Anko lavished attention on Ranma's breasts, kissing exposed the exposed skin hungrily, interspersing tender caresses with bites and forceful squeezes. Ranma could do little in the face of the onslaught but endure it. She and Akane had experimented some with her female form, but there was always a great deal of reluctance on both sides to really embrace her female side's sexuality. Anko had no such hesitation. Her right hand loosened the drawstring on Ranma's pants and quickly worked its way down to her folds, her deft fingers urgently exploring until she found Ranma's clit. Ranma gasped at the first contact, causing Anko to smirk as she kissed her aggressively.

With the same sense of urgency that had dominated the entire encounter, Anko applied increasing amounts of pressure and friction to the redhead's sex, causing her to gasp and quiver. Ranma's orgasm didn't build as much as it exploded, causing her to quake in Anko's arms as the other ninja didn't let up. Anko slid several fingers inside of Ranma's pussy, maintaining pressure and movement on her clit with the heel of her hand. A second orgasm quickly followed, and a third, then a fourth. Unable to bear it anymore, Ranma pushed weakly pushed Anko away, begging for a respite.

Anko relented, pulling her hand out from Ranma's boxers and licking her fingers clean. She kissed Ranma, allowing her to taste herself on Anko's tongue.

Ranma kissed her back, groggy and satiated, but very self-conscious and not sure what to do next. Anko seemed to sense this, and taking her hand, got up from the couch and led her into the bedroom. As she walked, she began to wriggle out of her own pants. When they reached the bed, she gently pulled Ranma's pants down, and pushed her onto the bed. Ranma was no longer lost. She assumed the role of the aggressor this time, determined to pay Anko back in full. Whereas Anko's fiery assault was a lust-fueled blitzkrieg, Ranma immersed herself in the Soul of Ice, determined not to let her own desires get in the way of reducing Anko to a quivering wreck. Ranma worshiped Anko's body, taking time to touch, taste, and caress every part of her lover's body before even nearing her sex.

Anko was positively begging for release by the time Ranma trailed kisses down Anko's stomach, stopping at her mons to trace the contours of her inner thighs with her nose. Gently opening the folds labia, Ranma began to explore, first with her fingers, then adding her tongue to the mix, savoring Anko's taste as she lavished attention on her clit. Anko orgasmed quickly, clamping her thighs around Ranma's head. Returning the earlier favor, Ranma continued her efforts, causing Anko to convulse as another orgasm followed the first in short order.

Anko, too, eventually had to plead for mercy. She pulled the redhead's face up from between her legs, satiated and too exhausted for any further sexual activity. She pulled her into an embrace, nestling Ranma's head on her shoulder, gently stroking her hair as she caressed her lover's exposed side.

Anko gave a mirthless chuckle. "I... didn't think we'd be in this position again."

"Me either." Ranma's left hand slowly the contours of Anko's collarbone. The urgency was gone - the two of them simply sought solace from each other.

"I..." Anko trailed off. "I'm sorry."

Ranma shifted just enough to kiss her jaw. "Me too."

They drifted off to sleep together. When they woke up sometime later, they resumed where they left off, simply taking joy in being together. At some point, Ranma left the bed for hot water. The subsequent couplings were less frenetic, but no less urgent than the first time.

Eventually they collapsed onto the bed together in a heap of limbs, cuddling together as they basked in the after effects of their physical activities.

Ranma idly traced the pattern of the cursed seal on Anko's neck as they spooned in the bed. Anko's skin pebbled with goosebumps at the touch.

"What does this feel like?"

"That feels good."

"It doesn't feel different than the surrounding skin." Ranma said.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it around to her chest. "It feels different here," she said, before moving the hand to her temple, "and here."

Ranma scooted closer, pulling her back to his chest. "What does it do?"

"Jiraiya thinks it produces some kind of enzyme that messes with my emotions. It responds to and amplifies negativity. If I get angry, it keeps me angry."

"How do you deal with it?"

She rolled over and kissed him. "I try to stay occupied. I like my job. It keeps me happy. Dango works." She smiled. "If this doesn't destroy me, I have high hopes this will work, too." She frowned a bit. "I suck at relationships."

Ranma shrugged. "So do I. Divorcee, remember?"

"Right." Anko scooted closer, resting her head on his chest. "Ranma?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"If this doesn't work out and I lose to the seal, you'll put me down. Okay?" Anko said.

"What the fuck kind of…"

Anko silenced him by placing a finger on his lips as she stared up at him. "I meant what I said earlier. I'm terrified. But I'm willing to try because it's you. You can stop me. If you care about me, promise me… promise me that if the worst happens, you won't let Orochimaru beat me."

"Do you know what you're asking?"

"I do." Anko said. "Promise me?"

Ranma sighed and sank back into the pillows, the familiar weight of obligation pressing heavily on him once again. "I promise."

* * *

AN: A portion of the big reveal! Not 100% pleased with it, but at least it's on paper and up. If I keep re-writing for perfection, I'll never post it. Bitch, moan, and flame all y'all want. Critical (not flames) reviews are invaluable - a couple of reviews from the last chapter was incredibly useful and helped me get back on track.

Also, I'm looking for some artwork to use as an icon for this story. Anyone want to take a crack at drawing something? You'll get a cookie!


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